A     SHORT     HISTORY     OF    THE 
AMERICAN     PEOPLE 

In  Two  Volumes 


WASHINGTON 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF 
AMERICAN  NATIONALITY 


BY 
CARL   RUSSELL   FISH 

PROFESSOR    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY 
UNIVERSITY    OF    WISCONSIN 


REVISED 


AMERICAN   BOOK  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI  CHICAGO 

BOSTON  ATLANTA 


COPYRIGHT,  1913,  1918, 1919,  BY 

CARL  RUSSELL  FISH. 
COPYRIGHT,  1913,  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

DEV.  AMER.  NATIONALITY. 

E.P'.  2 


n    A.  L 


u^ 


GENERAL    PREFACE 

THE  authors  hope  that  this  "  Short  History  of  the  American 
People  "  may  serve  the  purposes  of  two  classes  of  readers. 
They  have  aimed,  in  the  first  instance,  to  provide  for  college 
undergraduates  pursuing  an  introductory  course  in  American 
history,  a  general  manual  which  will  embody,  in  some  meas 
ure  at  least,  the  enlarged  knowledge  and  the  new  points  of 
view  made  possible  by  the  results  of  research  in  recent  years. 
They  believe  also  that  this  history  will  meet  the  requirements 
of  the  general  reader  who  desires  a  comprehensive  view  of 
the  subject  within  reasonable  compass.  For  the  student  and 
the  general  reader  alike,  it  is  hoped  that  the  bibliographical 
notes  may  point  the  way  to  more  extended  studies. 

The  aim  of  the  authors  is  not  so  much  to  present  a  bal 
anced  narrative  of  events,  as  to  describe  those  movements 
and  forces  which  have  left  their  permanent  impress  upon 
the  national  character  and  institutions.  ^The  first  volume 
(The  Foundations  of  American  Nationality,  before  1789)  deals 
with  the  molding  of  the  varied  European  elements  and  the 
several  detached  colonies  into  an  independent  and  united 
nation  ;  the  second  (The  Development  of  American  Nationality, 
1783  to  the  Present  Time)  deals  with  the  development  of  the 
nation  so  formed.  While  any  division  of  the  subject  matter 
of  history  occasions  perplexity  and  disagreement,  the  authors 
believe  that  the  character  of  the  problems  confronting  the 
people  of  the  time,  and  the  character  of  the  materials  which 
the  historian  must  employ,  permanently  differentiate  the  colo 
nial  period  from  the  national,  and  that  the  two  can  best  be 
treated  by  different  men.  In  order,  however,  that  each  author 
might  have  full  liberty  to  express  his  views,  the  volumes  over 
lap  for  the  period  1783  to  1789. 


364001 


PREFACE   TO   VOLUME   II 

THE  aim  of  the  author,  in  writing  this  volume,  has  been  to 
exhibit  American  history  as  a  development.  The  central 
point  of  view  has  been  the  political,  with  the  idea  that  the 
American  people  have  expressed  themselves  more  fully  in 
their  political  life  than  elsewhere,  and  more  so  than  has  been 
the  case  with  most  other  nations.  To  make  clear  this  po 
litical  development,  the  various  factors,  economic,  social,  in 
tellectual,  and  moral,  which  from  time  to  time  have,  by  their 
interaction,  contributed  to  it,  have  been  treated  in  as  much 
detail  as  the  author  believes  their  relative  importance  entitles 
them  to.  It  cannot  be  hoped  that  any  such  selection  of  con 
tributing  factors  will  prove  universally  satisfactory,  but  the 
greater  vitality  which  this  method  gives  is  felt  to  more  than 
counterbalance  the  criticism  that  might  be  avoided  by  a  more 
conventional  treatment.  With  respect  to  military  history,  the 
author  has  departed  from  the  standard  of  relative  values,  and 
given  it  less  space  than  its  real  importance  demands,  believ 
ing  that  most  persons  possess  a  better  knowledge  of  this  than 
of  other  fields,  owing  to  the  interest  which  it  seems  to  hold 
for  them  during  their  high  school  age. 

As  the  chief  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  serve  as  a  text 
for  use  in  college  classes,  the  author  calls  attention  to  three 
assumptions  that  he  has  made  with  reference  to  college 
students :  first,  that  they  have  some  general  knowledge  of 
American  history ;  second,  that  they  will  make  some  use  of 
collateral  reading ;  third,  that  they  have  somewhat  more  ma 
turity  of  mind  than  students  in  high  schools,  and  may  be 
expected  to  grasp  more  fundamental  ideas  and  to  compre 
hend  a  greater  complexity  of  causal  relations.  With  these 


viii  PREFACE  TO  VOLUME  II 

assumptions  in  mind,  it  has  been  felt  possible  to  eliminate 
some  of  the  more  commonly  known  facts,  and  to  disregard 
chronology  to  a  greater  degree  than  is  advisable  in  books  for 
the  use  of  less  mature  students.  In  thus  adapting  American 
history,  the  author  has  been  guided  by  a  ten  years'  experi 
ence  in  presenting  the  period  under  review  to  students  of 
this  type. 

The  bibliographical  notes  given  at  the  end  of  the  chap 
ters  are  not  intended  to  supply  references  for  extensive  topic 
work,  which  must  always  be  molded  to  the  capacity  of  the 
libraries  available  ;  or  to  give  authority  to  the  text.  Their 
sole  purpose  is  to  suggest  supplementary  reading.  The  aim 
has  not  been  to  make  the  lists  long,  but  to  give  those  refer 
ences  which  have  been  found  most  useful  in  actual  class-room 
work.  In  general,  reference  has  not  been  made  to  rare  works 
now  out  of  print,  but  to  material  apt  to  be  at  hand  in  the 
average  college  library.  With  this  point  in  mind  extensive 
use  has  been  made  of  publications  of  learned  societies.  Ref 
erences  to  the  same  work  have  seldom  been  repeated  at  the 
end  of  the  several  chapters,  and  in  the  absence  of  the  articles 
specifically  noted,  many  general  histories  might  well  be  used 
to  supplement  other  chapters  than  those  in  connection  with 
which  they  are  mentioned.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to 
equalize  the  references  at  the  close  of  the  several  chapters, 
and  it  is  the  belief  of  the  author  that  reading  on  some  sub 
jects  is  much  more  valuable  than  on  others,  and  that  students 
should  not  be  encouraged  to  expect  mechanical  assignments 
of  equal  length  to  supplement  the  work  of  each  subject  or 
.each  week.  The  author  believes  in  the  value  of  general 
reading  in  the  sources  even  more  than  in  the  reading  of 
important  special  documents,  and  the  source  references  are 
to  such  material  as  is  readily  available. 


GENERAL    REFERENCES 


Channing,  E.,  Hart,  A.  B.,  and  Turner,  F.  J.,  Guide  to  the  Study  and 
Reading  of  American  History,  Boston,  1912.  This  guide  in  its  newest 
edition  should  be  in  the  hands  of  all  college  teachers  of  history.  Its 
bibliographical  references  are  richer  than  those  of  any  textbook  can  be, 
and  its  pedagogical  suggestions  represent  the  latest  thought  with  refer 
ence  to  college  teaching. 

McLaughlin,  A.  C.,  and  Hart,  A.  B.,  Cyclopedia  of  American  Govern 
ment,  N.  Y.,  1913. 

Stanwood,  E.,  History  of  the  Presidency  (to  1909),  2  vols.,  Boston, 
1898,  1912.  This  contains  party  platforms  and  votes. 

The  following  general  histories  are  valuable  through  the  periods 
mentioned  : 

1801-1817.     Adams,  H.,  History  of  the  United  States,  N.  Y.,  1889-1891. 
1492-1789.     Bancroft,  G.,  A  History  of  the  United  States,  6  vols.,  N.  Y., 

1883-1885. 
1783-1865.     Curtis,  G.  T.,   Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States, 

2  vols.,  N.  Y.,  1889-1896. 
1789-1900.     Dewey,  D.  R.,  Financial  History  of  the  United  States,  N.  Y., 

1907. 
1300-1907.     Hart,    A.  B.   [editor],    The  American  Nation:    A  History, 

27  vols.,  N.  Y.,  1904-1908.     Each  volume  has  a  separate 

author,  and  several  of  them  are  referred  to  in  the  chapter 

bibliographies. 
1783-1860.     McMaster,  J.  B.,  History  of  the  People  of  the   United  States 

from  the  Revolution  to  the  Civil  War,  8  vols.,  N.  Y.,  1884- 

1913. 
1849-1877.     Rhodes,  J.  F.,  History  of  the  United  States,  7  vols.,  N.  Y., 

1891-1906. 
1783-1865.     Schouler,  J.,  History  of  the  United  States,  7  vols.,  N.  Y., 

1894-1914. 

The  following  series  are  of  especial  value :  for  biography,  the 
American  Statesmen,  edited  by  J.  T.  Morse ;  and  for  state  history,  the 
American  Commonwealths,  edited  by  H.  E.  Scudder,  and  the  Stories  of 
the  States,  edited  by  E.  S.  Brooks. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

GENERAL  BIBLIOGRAPHY ix 

CHAPTER 

I.     THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  1783 1 

II.    THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  CONFEDERATION        ...  17 

III.  THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION      ...  31 

IV.  THE    ORGANIZATION    AND    ESTABLISHMENT    OF    THE 

NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT 44 

V.    PROBLEMS  OF  THE  FRONTIER  AND  OF  COMMERCE       .  59 

VI.    THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS       ...  74 

VII.    JEFFERSONIAN  DEMOCRACY 86 

VIII.     THE  WAR  OF  1812 108 

IX.    THE    PERIOD  OF    TRANSITION  —  NEW    SOCIAL,    ECO 
NOMIC,  AND  POLITICAL  CONDITIONS          .        .        .  128 
X.     POLITICS  DURING  THE  PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION,  1815 

TO  1829 156 

XL     FRONTIER  POLICIES 184 

XII.    JACKSON  AND  SOUTH  CAROLINA 197 

XIII.  JACKSON  AND  THE  BANK 210 

XIV.  JACKSON'S  SECOND  TERM 220 

XV.    THE  VAN  BUREN  ADMINISTRATION      ....  234 

XVI.     HARRISON  AND  TYLER 249 

XVII.    NEW  ECONOMIC  AND   SOCIAL   CONDITIONS,   1830   TO 

1860 264 

XVIII.     INTELLECTUAL  AND  MORAL  RENAISSANCE    .        .        .  281 

XIX.    TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION  AND  SLAVERY       .        .        .  302 

XX.    BREAKING  OF  THE  BONDS  OF  UNION   ....  327 

XXI.     DIVISION 360 

XXII.    THE  CIVIL  WAR 373 

XXIII.     POLITICS  DURING  THE  WAR  ...,,.  396 

x 


CONTENTS  XI 

CHAPTER  TAGS 

XXIV.     RECONSTRUCTION  TO  1872 407 

XXV.     RECONSTRUCTION  COMPLETED 433 

XXVI.  THE  CURRENCY  AND  THE  TARIFF,  1880  TO  1900     .    454 

XXVII.  THE  SPANISH  WAR  AND  DIPLOMACY         .        .        .483 

XXVIII.  INDUSTRIAL  AND  SOCIAL  CHANGES    ....    500 

XXIX.  POLITICAL  ADJUSTMENTS  AND  LEGISLATION      .        .    519 

XXX.  THE  NEW  DEMOCRACY    2  .        .        .        .        .        .535 

XXXI.  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  THE  GREAT  WAR       .        .    549 


PORTRAITS 

PAGE 

George  Washington Frontispiece 

Alexander  Hamilton 56 

Thomas  Jefferson 86 

Andrew  Jackson 184 

Abraham  Lincoln 366 

Robert  E.  Lee         .  374 


MAPS 

United  States,  1783-1790 22 

Density  of  Population  in  the  United  States,  1810,  and  Indian 

Cessions  to  that  Date 114 

Roads  and  Trunk  Canals  in  1825 137 

Railroad  Development  in  the  United  States,  1860          .         .         .  266 

Presidential  Election  in  the  United  States,  1860    ....  356 

The  Seat  of  the  Civil  War 388 

The  Advance  of  Population  in  the  United  States,  1790  to  1890     .  438 

Election  of  1892 475 

Election  of  1896 480 

Territorial  Expansion  of  the  United  States 486 

The  United  States  and  its  Possessions  .                                            ,  492 


THE    DEVELOPMENT    OF 
AMERICAN     NATIONALITY 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  UNITED   STATES  IN   1783 

THE  history  of  the  American  people  from  the  landing  at 
Jamestown  to  the  present  day  is  one  and  indivisible.  It  is, 
moreover,  indissolubly  connected  with  the  development  of 
European  civilization.  History  does  not  occur  in  epochs, 
and  each  great  event  is  at  the  same  time  the  culmination  of 
one  line  of  causation  and  the  starting  point  of  another.  For 
the  purposes  of  study  as  well  as  of  writing,  however,  some 
thing  less  than  the  whole  must  be  taken,  and  the  attempt 
should  be  made  to  divide  at  the  point  where  fewest  threads 
will  be  broken.  In  a  history  like  this,  where  the  main  interest 
is  political,  the  meeting  of  the  first  Continental  Congress  or  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  might  seem  to  be  more  logical 
dates  for  separation  than  1783.  In  fact,  1789  is  to  serve  as 
the  real  point  of  departure,  but  to  treat  of  the  Constitution 
without  giving  the  conditions  and  the  struggles  out  of  which 
it  came  seemed  impossible ;  and  so  this  book  and  the  pre 
ceding  volume  overlap  for  the  period  1783  to  1789.  In 
addition,  this  first  chapter  attempts  to  summarize  those  con 
ditions  resulting  from  colonial  development  which  are  most 
essential  for  an  understanding  of  the  subsequent  history. 

The  event  which  makes  1 783  significant  is  that  in  that  year  independ- 
American  independence  was  finally  achieved  and  formally  e 
acknowledged  in  the  treaty  of  Paris.    This  treaty  marked 
the  failure  of  the  attempt  to  govern  the  English  settlements 


THE  UNITED    STATES  IN  1783 


Territory. 


States  and 
sections. 


New  Eng 
land. 


on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  America  as  a  portion  of  the  British 
empire.  It  left  them  free  to  guide  their  own  future  develop 
ment,  and  face  to  face  with  the  problem  of  making  of  them 
selves  a  new  nation.  The  territory  assigned  them  by  the 
treaty  was  amply  sufficient  for  present  needs,  amounting  to 
about  850,000  square  miles;  but  the  descriptions  of  its 
boundaries,  owing  to  the  lack  of  geographical  knowledge 
at  the  time,  were  inaccurate,  and  occasioned  years  of  con 
troversy  and  sometimes  danger  of  war.  The  national  popu 
lation  amounted  to  less  than  3,500,000,  and  occupied  less 
than  a  third  of  the  territory  to  which  the  treaty  gave  title. 
The  remaining  area  was  waste,  or  was  peopled  by  Indians, 
and  portions  were  still  held  by  foreign  powers.  It  was  years 
before  the  actual  situation  was  made  to  conform  to  the  title 
we  received  in  1783, — before  it  became  certain  that  the 
United  States  would  be  a  great  continental  power. 

The  lack  of  unity  within  made  our  title  the  more  pre 
carious.  There  were  thirteen  distinct  and  separate  state 
governments,  united  by  but  a  loose  bond  of  confederation, 
and  Vermont  had  its  own  local  authority  which  defied  the 
rest.  The  effort  to  bind  these  separate  states  into  one 
effective  government  was  the  first  great  national  task,  and 
was  successful;  but  there  was  another  element  of  disunion, 
still  more  important  and  destined  to  prove  more  obstinate. 
Differences  in  the  original  stock,  emphasized  by  different  phys 
ical  conditions  and  by  the  isolated  life  of  the  colonial  period, 
had  created  several  great  sections  or  divisions  of  the  country, 
which  had  sufficient  similarity  within  themselves,  and 
sufficient  unlikeness  to  each  other,  to  make  them  permanent 
entities,  and  to  cause  sectionalism  to  be  a  permanent  factor 
in  American  history. 

In  the  northeast  lay  New  England.  From  its  mountains, 
the  White  and  the  Green,  the  land  sloped  away  south  and  east 
to  the  sea.  Excepting  a  fringe  of  sandy  plain  only  a  few 
miles  wide  on  the  south  shore,  the  whole  region  had  been 


NEW  ENGLAND  3 

glacier  swept.  The  tops  of  the  granite  ridges  which  radiated 
from  Mount  Washington  toward  the  coast  had  been  ground 
down,  and  the  debris  covered  the  intervening  valleys  with  a 
soil,  rough,  filled  with  bowlders,  and  hard  to  work,  but  inex 
haustible.  These  valleys,  widening  as  they  approached  the 
sea,  gathered  up  the  waters  into  rivers,  generally  not  navi 
gable  for  long  distances,  but  strong  and  rapid.  At  the  falls 
of  these  rivers  there  stood  already  mills  to  grind  flour  and 
to  saw  the  timber  which  covered  nearly  the  whole  region. 
Where  the  mountain  ridges  breasted  the  ocean  they  formed 
headlands  and  islands,  and  the  intervening  inlets  and  bays, 
into  which  the  rivers  flowed,  afforded  sheltering  harbors  for 
ships  of  all  sizes,  and  were  rich  in  all  kinds  of  fish. 

The  New  Englanders  were  of  nearly  pure  English  descent,  New  Eng- 
and  the  ancestors  of  a  majority  of  them  had  been  Puritans 
who  came  to  America  during  the  brief  period  between  1620 
and  1640.  They  were,  therefore,  remarkably  homogeneous. 
Religion  had  been  an  important  cause  of  the  first  migration, 
and  still  played  a  large  part  in  their  lives.  They  were  accus 
tomed  to  look  even  at  political  matters  from  a  religious 
point  of  view,  and  this  tended  to  make  them  peculiarly  tena 
cious  of  their  opinions,  and  to  consider  their  opponents  not 
only  as  mistaken  but  as  bad.  This  "New  England  con 
science"  was  accompanied  by  a  strong  missionary  spirit, 
under  the  impulse  of  which  they  tried  firmly,  and  not  always 
sympathetically,  to  impress  upon  others  New  England 
beliefs  and  usages.  Their  religion  was  Calvinistic.  They 
held  that  the  relations  between  God  and  man  were  regulated 
by  contract,  and  this  idea  of  contract  they  transferred  to  the 
other  relations  of  life.  Thus  they  had  long  based  their 
political  systems  upon  the  theory,  afterwards  formulated  by 
Locke  and  expressed  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  that 
government  must  rest  on  the  consent  of  the  governed,  prefer 
ably  expressed  in  the  form  of  a  written  contract  or  consti 
tution. 


4  THE    UNITED   STATES   IN    1783 

The  town.  Owing  in  part  to  the  physical  characteristics  of  New 

England,  the  numberless  little  harbors  of  the  coast  and 
the  hills  of  the  interior,  the  people  lived  mostly  in  vil 
lages,  rather  than  on  farms.  The  village  settlement  was 
the  center  of  the  town,  which  was  a  geographical  area 
corresponding  to  the  modern  western  township.  Towns 
differed  in  size  and  were  irregular  in  shape,  but  those  lately 
founded  averaged  about  six  miles  square.  The  town  was 
also  the  smallest  unit  of  local  government  and  was  a  very 
busy  one.  It  attended  to  practically  all  government  matters 
not  managed  by  the  state;  for,  although  counties  existed,  they 
did  little  except  judicial  business.  Moreover,  the  recognized 
functions  of  government  were  unusually  extensive.  The 
town  managed  nearly  all  church  affairs,  and  it  exercised  a 
very  close  supervision  over  the  lives  of  the  townspeople. 
All  this  business  was  done  in  the  town  meeting,  which  all 
voters  could  attend,  and,  between  meetings,  by  a  committee 
of  selectmen.  New  Englanders,  therefore,  were  accustomed 
to  a  government  which  actively  interfered  in  their  everyday 
life,  to  a  government  in  which  they  took  a  direct  part,  and  as 
a  result  of  this  direct  participation,  political  education  was 
more  widely  diffused  there  than  in  any  other  part  of  the 
world  at  that  time.  In  most  New  England  town  meetings, 
due  regard  was  paid  to  family  and  wealth  and  learning. 
As  John  Cotton  had  said,  New  England  was  neither  "meerly 
democratical "  nor  "meerly  aristocratical." 

Area.  This  population  of  New  Englanders  in  1783  occupied  the 

four  states  of  Massachusetts  (which  included  Maine),  New 
Hampshire,  Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut,  and  also  the  un 
recognized  state  of  Vermont.  Nearly  all  the  900,000  inhab 
itants  lived  south  of  a  line  drawn  across  the  middle  of  New 
Hampshire  and  Vermont.  A  desire  to  escape  the  rigid 
scrutiny  of  New  England  town  life,  combined  with  a  restless 
seeking  for  better  lands  and  climate,  had  caused  many  to 
migrate  to  other  colonies,  and  now  others  were  forced  to  do 


NEW  ENGLAND  5 

the  same  as  the  increasing  population  pressed  up  the  narrow 
ing  valleys,  where  the  soil  became  more  and  more  difficult  to 
cultivate.  Thus  a  New  England  element  was  to  be  found 
in  neighboring  parts  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  and 
was  beginning  to  enter  northern  Pennsylvania  and  the 
Mohawk  valley. 

The  majority  depended  for  a  living  upon  agriculture,  Occupations, 
eking  out  the  scanty  returns  of  their  rock-strewn  glacial  soil 
by  weaving,  or  making  shoes,  or  nails,  of  winter  nights.  A 
large  number  on  the  coast  hoped,  with  the  return  of  peace, 
to  resume  their  fishing  on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland. 
Most  of  those  who  hoped  to  grow  wealthy  engaged  in  com 
merce.  They  were  accustomed  to  carry  their  fish  to  Spain 
and  the  West  Indies ;  of  West  Indian  molasses  they  made 
rum,  with  which  to  purchase  in  Africa  negroes  to  sell  in 
America;  they  served  as  carriers  and  agents  for  the  less 
commercial  people  of  the  other  colonies.  The  ships  for  all 
this  trade  were  built  in  New  England,  where  ship  timber 
grew  to  the  water's  edge  of  many  snug  little  harbors,  which 
afforded  equal  security  for  construction,  and  facility  for 
putting  to  sea.  The  economic  life  of  the  people,  therefore, 
was  varied.  One  man  had  several  occupations.  Mechanical 
skill  and  commercial  shrewdness  were  developed.  Many 
of  the  things  to  which  they  turned  their  hands,  moreover, 
such  as  trading  and  fishing  beyond  the  national  boundaries, 
were  of  such  a  character  as  to  thrive  or  droop  according  to 
the  degree  of  protection  and  encouragement  afforded  by  the 
government.  Politics  and  industry  were,  therefore,  closely 
connected.  Boston,  although  surpassed  in  population  by  Phila 
delphia  and  New  York,  had  the  most  widespread  commercial 
connections  of  all  the  cities  in  the  country.  For  years  Ameri 
cans  were  known  in  many  parts  of  the  world  as  Bostonese. 

On  the  great  Atlantic  coast  plain,  with  its  sinuous,  slow-  The  coast 
moving  rivers,  and  its  rich,  thin,  alluvial  soil,  a  very  different  p^^oV*16 
type  of  civilization  had  developed.    The  characteristic  in-  system- 


6  THE   UNITED    STATES   IN   1783 

stitution  was  the  plantation.  Back  from  the  road  or  the 
river  stood  the  mansion  house  of  the  owner;  behind  it  clus 
tered  the  cabins  of  the  slaves,  while  beyond,  the  fields 
stretched  away  to.  the  surrounding  woods.  This  little  village 
was  the  absolute  possession  of  the  master,  and  its  object  was 
the  production  of  as  large  a  crop  as  possible  of  the  staple  :  to 
bacco  or  rice  or  indigo.  Food  was  raised,  and  some  simple 
trades  were  practiced,  but  these  were  of  subsidiary  interest. 
Its  economic  relations  with  the  outside  world  consisted 
chiefly  of  shipping  the  crop  to  England,  and  receiving  in 
return  clothes,  tools,  and  such  other  necessities  or  luxuries 
as  might  be  ordered  for  the  ensuing  year.  The  one-crop 
system  of  cultivation  used  up  the  soil  rapidly,  and  most  plan 
tations  were  surrounded  by  great  tracts  of  land  exhausted 
in  the  past,  or  reserved  for  future  use. 

Extension  of  When  the  land  had  been  long  used,  and  when  there 
system.10n  came  to  be  great  numbers  of  old  and  useless  slaves,  the  plan 
tation  became  less  profitable.  The  planter,  however,  was  not 
willing  to  reduce  his  standard  of  living.  Many  of  the  great 
families  of  Virginia  had  been  founded  by  cavaliers,  sup 
porters  of  Charles  I  in  the  great  English  civil  war,  who  had 
migrated  to  America  during  the  Commonwealth,  between 
1648  and  1660,  and  who  had  tried  to  reproduce  the  conditions 
of  their  old  English  homes.  The  style  of  living  they  adopted 
became  the  aspiration  of  all  planters,  of  whatever  origin, 
who  made  money ;  to  curtail  it,  was  to  admit  defeat.  Some 
borrowed  money  and  increased  their  holdings  of  land  and 
slaves.  Others  sold  out,  and,  investing  in  new  land  beyond 
the  settlements,  opened  new  plantations.  This  increasing 
area  of  production  constantly  lowered  the  price  of  the  staple, 
whether  tobacco,  rice,  indigo,  or,  later,  cotton;  and  this 
again  reduced  the  profits  of  the  planter  on  each  slave  and 
each  acre.  It  again  became  necessary  to  enlarge  the  in 
vestment,  or  to  move  on.  This  same  story  continually  re 
peated  itself ;  the  plantations  growing  in  size,  and  the  plan- 


THE   PLANTATION    COUNTRY  7 

tation  system  stretching  inward  from  the  coast,  across  the 
tidewater  region,  and  up  into  the  piedmont  or  foothills.  In 
the  old  plantation  area,  there  remained  the  more  successful, 
and  to  them  succeeded  their  eldest  sons.  The  community 
became  wealthy  and  conservative.  To  the  back  country 
went  the  more  adventurous,  the  younger  sons,  the  successful 
merchants,  and  small  farmers  who  aspired  to  become  planters, 
taking  with  them  some  little  capital,  represented  by  young 
and  able-bodied  slaves. 

In  the  tidewater  region,  lawyers,  doctors,  and  the  wealth 
iest  merchants  associated  with  the  planters,  but  the  remainder 
of  the  white  population,  consisting  largely  of  the  descendants 
of  white  servants  brought  over  under  conditions  of  practical 
slavery,  were,  for  the  most  part,  in  poverty  and  dependence. 
In  the  piedmont,  planters  like  Jefferson  and  Patrick  Henry 
lived  on  terms  approaching  equality  with  independent  farmers 
who  came  down  from  the  mountain  valleys,  and  plantation 
and  small  farm  existed  peaceably  side  by  side. 

The  smallest  unit  of  government  was  the  parish,  which  Government 
had  civil  as  well  as  religious  duties,  and  which  was  governed 
by  a  vestry  composed  of  the  wealthier  planters.  More  im 
portant  was  the  county,  governed  by  a  'county  court,  com 
posed  of  a  number  of  the  greater  planters  appointed  by  the 
governor.  Members  of  the  legislature  were  elected  by  the 
people,  who,  having  come  together  and  heard  speeches  and 
eaten  and  drunk  at  the  candidates'  expense,  divided  into  two 
crowds  to  be  counted.  The  government  exercised  few  func 
tions.  Poor  relief,  education,  and  often  road  and  bridge  mak 
ing  were  largely  left  to  the  individual  planter.  Under  these 
conditions  the  planter  class  came  to  be  all-powerful,  and  the 
planters  came  to  believe  strongly  in  democratic  principles, 
meaning,  thereby,  the  least  government  possible.  In  the 
management  of  their  large  plantations,  with  sometimes 
hundreds  of  souls  dependent  upon  them,  many  acquired  great 
administrative  ability  and  a  strong  sense  of  public  duty. 


8  THE   UNITED   STATES    IN    1783 

It  was  by  no  accident  that  for  more  than  two  thirds  of  the 
period  before  the  Civil  War  our  presidents  were  of  this 
class. 

Area.  In  1783  plantations  occupied  nearly  all  the  Atlantic 

coast  plains  of  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  the  Carolinas, 
and  Georgia.  The  system  had  a  foothold  in  the  piedmont 
region  of  these  states,  and  some  veterans  of  the  Revolution 
were  planning  to  establish  plantations  in  the  beautiful  blue- 
grass  district  along  the  banks  of  the  Kentucky.  The  popula 
tion  of  this  area  was  about  1,200,000,  of  whom  nearly  half 
were  slaves.  There  was  only  one  really  important  city, 
Charleston,  whither  the  South  Carolina  planters  had  to  flee, 
at  certain  seasons,  to  escape  the  fever. 

The  Middle  The  region  between  the  plantation  country  and  New 

England  consisted  of  the  valleys  of  three  great  rivers,  the 
Hudson,  the  Delaware,  and  the  Susquehanna,  which  ran  into 
three  great  bays,  and  near  whose  mouths  stood  the  busy 
cities  of  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore.  Each  val 
ley  had  distinguishing  characteristics.  The  Hudson  had 
been  settled  by  the  Dutch,  and  although  many  English,  New 
Englanders,  Germans,  and  others  had  mixed  with  them,  they 
were  still  an  important  factor.  The  Delaware  region  was 
largely  occupied  by  English  and  German  Quakers,  whose 
kindly  humanity  had  made  Philadelphia  a  real  abode  of 
brotherly  love  and  social  betterment,  but  the  extreme  toler 
ance  of  whose  creed  caused  them  to  be  less  influential  than 
the  New  Englanders  in  impressing  their  ideas  upon  others. 
Quaker  shrewdness  and  honest  dealing,  moreover,  had  built 
up  many  substantial  fortunes,  and  Philadelphia  was  one  of 
the  few  places  in  the  United  States  where  capital  was  seek 
ing  investment  on  a  large  scale.  The  Susquehanna  valley 
contained  a  large  proportion  of  Germans,  still  using  their  na 
tive  tongue.  Generally  known  as  "Pennsylvania  Dutch," 
they  constituted  about  one  fourm  the  population  of  that 
state.  They  lived  to  a  considerable  extent  in  separate  com- 


THE  MIDDLE   STATES  9 

munities,  and  clung  tenaciously  to  their  national  customs. 
It  was  many  years  before  they  ceased  to  be  a  distinct  ele 
ment,  and  many  of  their  characteristics  remained  to  their 
descendants  long  after  their  unity  was  broken  up  by  inter 
marriage  and  dispersal.  The  Susquehanna  valley  contained 
also  many  Scotch-Irish  and  English.  Its  natural  port,  Bal 
timore,  lay  in  Maryland,  and  so  was  affiliated  politically  with 
the  plantation  area. 

Throughout  the  whole  region  there  was  a  varied  agricul-  Economic 
ture,  producing  every  year  a  surplus  for  expert,  the  han 
dling  of  which  supported  a  mercantile  community  in  the  three 
leading  cities.  This  trade,  although,  unlike  that  of  New 
England,  it  was  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  local  needs 
of  the  section,  was  already  sufficient  to  make  New  York  the 
most  cosmopolitan  city  in  America,  and  Philadelphia  the 
financial  center.  There  were  those,  too,  who  even  in  1783 
foresaw  unlimited  possibilities  of  expansion.  The  headwaters 
of  the  three  great  rivers  of  the  region  are  in  the  Appalachian 
mountains,  where  they  interlace  with  those  of  the  rivers  of 
the  Ohio  and  Great  Lake  systems.  Where  these  rivers  break 
through  the  mountain  ridges  and  plateaus,  some  to  flow 
eastward,  some  westward,  they  form  low  passes,  which  even 
in  Indian  times  afforded  routes  for  war  and  trade  and  mi 
gration  between  the  coast  and  the  Mississippi  valley.  It 
was  felt  that  when  the  Middle  States  developed,  if  only 
the  passes  could  be  made  convenient  highways,  these 
cities  would  become  the  gateways  of  western  commerce. 
This,  however,  was  a  dream  of  the  future ;  and,  moreover, 
as  yet  the  great  mineral  resources  of  the  mountains  had  but 
little  effect  on  the  life  of  the  people. 

The  Dutch,  the  Germans,  and  the  Scotch-Irish  were  com-  Political 
paratively  inexperienced  in  the  political  institutions  by  which  c 
they  were  governed,  and  the  Quakers  largely  indifferent  to 
politics.     In  New  York,  as  a  result  of  the  method  of  settle 
ment,  great  tracts  of  land  were  held  by  landlords  who  rented 


IO 


THE   UNITED    STATES  IN    1783 


Local 
government. 


The  frontier. 


it  to  tenant  farmers,  whose  votes  they  controlled.  Self-gov 
ernment,  therefore,  did  not  work  so  smoothly  as  in  New  Eng 
land  and  Virginia.  There  existed,  also,  well-defined  interests, 
the  mercantile,  the  agricultural ;  the  German,  the  Dutch, 
and  the  Quakers;  the  city,  the  country.  To  lead  such  a 
population  required  men  who  could  organize  their  supporters ; 
and  the  germs  of  party  organization  and  the  spoils  system 
were  already  to  be  found.  To  adjust  the  conflicting  forces 
required  men  clever  at  shifting  political  alliances  to  suit  the 
needs  of  thg  moment.  These  problems  resembled,  on  a 
small  scale,  those  of  the  nation  as  a  whole,  and  many  of  the 
politicians  trained  in  the  Middle  States  came  to  exercise 
great  influence  in  national  affairs,  harmonizing,  conciliating, 
and  manipulating  the  divergent  sections  and  parties. 

The  system  of  local  government  combined  some  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  sections  to  the  east  and  south.  In 
Pennsylvania,  the  county  was  all-important,  but  its  officials 
were  elected  by  the  people.  In  New  York,  township  and 
county  divided  the  local  powers,  the  county  being  governed 
by  representatives  from  all  the  townships  of  which  it  was 
composed.  Lying  in  the  road  between  the  coast  and  the 
West,  the  Middle  States  were  to  contribute  much  to  the  traits 
of  that  section  which  was  yet  to  be  developed,  and  among 
other  things,  one  or  the  other  of  these  methods  of  managing 
local  affairs  has  been  adopted  by  every  state  north  of  the 
Ohio  and  the  Missouri.  In  some  respects  the  Middle  States 
were  in  1783  the  most  American  of  the  sections;  the  pop 
ulation  of  this  region  was  somewhat  over  700,000. 

From  central  Pennsylvania  to  northern  Georgia,  south 
erly  and  southwesterly,  there  sweeps  a  broad  mountain  belt, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  wide,  seven  hundred  miles  long, 
and  composed  of  almost  unbroken  parallel  ridges,  with  val 
leys,  now  fertile  with  a  rich  limestone  soil,  now  waste  and 
fruitless,  lying  between.  About  1720,  pioneers  began  to 
enter  these  mountain  troughs  in  Pennsylvania,  where  the 


THE  FRONTIER  II 

Susquehanna  breaks  through  many  of  the  ridges.  Naturally 
this  movement  included  many  of  the  valley  Germans;  it 
included  also  adventurous  or  unsuccessful  families  from 
nearly  all  the  other  colonies;  but  the  characteristic  strain 
was  furnished  by  that  Scotch  element  which,  attracted  to 
northern  Ireland  in  the  early  seventeenth  century,  now  began 
to  seek  its  fortunes  in  America.  Allured  by  good  hunting 
and  fertile  limestone  bottoms,  and  impelled  by  the  need  of 
more  room  for  their  large  families  which  clannishly  clung  to 
gether,  this  population  had  by  1783  pushed  to  the  southern 
extremities  of  the  valleys. 

The  individual  settler,  with  his  family,  here  met  the  wild  Character- 
single-handed,  and '  lived  a  self-sustaining  life ;  he  must 
mend  his  gun,  and  raise  his  corn,  and  kill  his  meat.  The  com 
munity  was  almost  cut  off  by  lack  of  facilities  for  transporta 
tion  from  all  the  world  besides,  and  most  men  within  it  began 
with  the  ax  and  plow,  and  sent  their  sons  out  again  with  the 
ax  and  plow  to  win  a  living.  It  was,  therefore,  a  democratic 
community,  and  one  apt  to  chafe  under  authority.  It  had 
resisted  England,1  its  Revolutionary  epic  culminating  in  the 
battle  of  Kings  Mountain ;  but  it  was  equally  ready  to  re 
sist  the  authority  of  the  states.  A  broad  belt  of  wilderness 
separated  this  back  country  from  the  coast  settlements,  where 
government  centered,  and  distrust  was  mutual.  Free  from 
the  state  patriotism  so  powerful  in  the  older  communities, 
the  frontier  possessed  a  strong  national  feeling,  fostered  by 
the  Presbyterian  church  with  which  many  of  the  Scotch- 
Irish  settlers  were  connected,  which  was  the  oldest  nation 
wide  institution  in  America  and  whose  synods  had  for 
many  years  regularly  drawn  ministers  and  elders  from  the 
whole  region  to  Philadelphia  or  New  York.  Life  afforded  no 
opportunity  for  formal  education,  and  but  a  narrow  range  of 

1  In  accordance  with  common  usage  the  words  England  and  English  are  often 
used  in  this  book  to  apply  to  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain ;  in  speaking  of 
immigrants  therefrom,  however,  the  several  racial  stocks  are  differentiated. 


12 


THE    UNITED   STATES    IN   1783 


Area. 


Transporta 
tion. 


Elements  of 
union. 


experience,  but  it  gave  self-reliance,  practical  ability  to  cope 
with  vital  problems  individually,  or,  if  needs  be,  to  organize 
to  fight  the  Indians  or  resist  interference,  and  it  allowed  only 
the  courageous  and  physically  fit  to  develop  into  manhood. 

This  population  in  1783  fairly  well  filled  the  mountain 
valleys,  and  was  flowing  out  to  the  eastward  into  the  piedmont, 
particularly  in  Virginia,  where  it  was  already  mingling  with  the 
first  waves  advancing  from  the  coast.  The  greater  portion 
of  the  migration,  however,  was  westward.  In  1775  Daniel 
Boone  moved  his  family  into  Kentucky,  and  by  1783  steadily 
increasing  streams  were  flowing  into  the  Mississippi  valley, 
following  the  courses  of  the  Tennessee,  the  Cumberland,  the 
Kanawha,  and  the  Ohio.  The  total  population  of  this  area 
amounted  to  about  550,000,  and  closely  allied  to  it  in  char 
acteristics  were  about  150,000  living  in  Vermont,  New 
Hampshire,  and  Maine,  who  have  been  already  counted  as 
belonging  to  New  England. 

The  differences  between  the  sections,  and  even  those  be 
tween  smaller  localities  within  the  greater  sectional  areas,  were 
accentuated  by  the  difficulties  of  transportation.  The  British 
government  had  discouraged  trade  between  the  several  col 
onies,  desiring  each  to  deal  directly  with  the  mother  country. 
Roads  were  few  and  poor  except  in  closely  settled  areas,  as 
those  around  Boston  and  Philadelphia.  To  go  by  land  from 
one  state  to  another  was  in  most  cases  an  adventure  taking 
time,  strength,  and  often  courage.  Commercial  intercourse  was 
nearly  all  by  water,  and  the  coasts  were  by  no  means  easy  of 
navigation.  Much  time  and  money  and  skill  would  be  required 
before  the  states  could  be  knit  together  by  a  common  life. 

The  divergencies  of  the  sections  were  offset  by  many 
bonds  of  union.  Nearly  the  whole  population  spoke  Eng 
lish,  which  meant  that  their  minds  wTere  fed  by  the  same 
ideas,  derived  from  the  English  literature  of  the  time,  par 
ticularly  on  religious,  legal,  and  political  lines.  The  great 
bulk  of  the  population,  aside  from  the  negro  slaves,  was  of 


ARTICLES  OF   CONFEDERATION  13 

Teutonic  stock;  the  Scotch,  except  a  few  living  chiefly  in 
North  Carolina,  being  from  the  lowlands,  where  Anglo- 
Saxon  blood  predominated.  In  Maryland  there  were  many 
Roman  Catholics,  but  elsewhere  Protestants  were  in  over 
whelming  majority,  and  of  them  the  greater  number  were 
Calvinists.  There  was  a  common  political  experience  based 
upon  the  fact  that  all  the  states  were  confronted  by  much 
the  same  problems.  The  English  common  law  was  univer 
sally  accepted.  Most  important  of  all  was  the  similarity  of 
practice  and  principle  with  regard  to  methods  of  government 
other  than  local.  The  defense  of  these  colonial  political  insti 
tutions  had  been  in  large  measure  the  object  of  the  Revolution, 
and  now  they  had  been  crystallized  in  the  constitutions  of 
the  several  states. 

Organic  unity  among  the  states  was  actually  represented  Articles  of 
by  the  Articles  of  Confederation.  These  established  not  &£** 
so  much  a  form  of  government  as  a  method  of  diplomatic 
intercourse,  and  the  organization  took  the  form  of  a  body 
called  a  Congress,  a  term  at  that  time  denoting  a  meeting  of 
diplomatic  representatives.  The  delegates  of  each  state 
jointly  cast  one  vote,  though  Rhode  Island  had  only  about 
60,000  population,  while  Virginia  had  700,000.  Two  or  more 
rriembers  had  to  be  present  to  cast  the  vote  of  a  state,  and 
they  might,  by  dividing  equally,  nullify  it.  The  assent  of 
nine  states  was  necessary  to  all  important  measures,  and  to 
amend  the  Articles  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  every 
state  was  necessary.  The  delegates  were  elected  and  paid 
by  their  state  legislatures,  and  were  liable  to  recall  at  any 
time.  Their  term  was  for  one  year,  and  they  could  be  re- 
elected  only  twice  in  any  series  of  six  years. 

The    powers  of    Congress  were  adapted  particularly  for  Powers  of 
war.    It  could  not  collect  customs,  or  regulate  commerce,  ex 
cept  by  making  treaties  prohibiting  discrimination  against 
foreign  goods  and  vessels.     It  could  treat  with  those  Indian 
tribes  only  which  did  not  live  wholly  in  any  one  state.     Its 


THE  UNITED    STATES    IN   1783 


The  judici 
ary. 


The  execu 
tive. 


Weakness  of 
the  Confed 
eration. 


revenue  was  to  be  obtained  by  dividing  its  expenses  among 
the  states  in  proportion  to  the  value  of  land  held  by  indi 
viduals,  but  there  was  no  method  of  forcing  a  state  to  pay, 
and  during  its  existence  the  Confederation  received  only 
about  $6,000,000  of  the  $16,000,000  for  which  it  asked. 

There  was  no  general  judiciary,  but  Congress  was  given 
power  to  select  certain  state  courts  to  try  piracies  and  fel 
onies  on  the  high  seas,  and  to  establish  courts  of  appeals  in 
prize  cases.  One  such  court  was  established  and  was  active, 
but  was  in  1784  discontinued,  the  war  claims  having  been 
mostly  adjudicated.  Congress  was  authorized  also  to  call 
special  courts,  made  up  according  to  a  carefully  detailed 
plan,  to  decide  boundary  disputes  between  states. 

No  executive  department  was  provided  for,  but  Congress 
had  power  to  appoint  civil  officers,  and  in  1783,  as  a  result 
of  hard  experience  during  the  war,  executive  business  had 
been  divided  among  three  departments.  The  Secretary  of 
Foreign  Affairs  was  Robert  Livingston  of  New  York,  suc 
ceeded  in  1784  by  John  Jay  of  the  same  state,  who  came  to 
be  the  most  influential  man  at  the  seat  of  government. 
Robert  Morris  was  Superintendent  of  Finance  until  1784, 
when  he  gave  up  in  despair  or  disgust,  and  was  succeeded 
by  a  board  of  three  commissioners.  General  Knox  in  1785 
followed  General  Lincoln  as  Secretary  at  War.  A  naval 
department  was  provided  for,  but  remained  unorganized. 
The  post  office  was  but  a  small  affair  and  was  not  considered 
as  a  department. 

The  government  was  weak  because  there  was  no  head 
to  unite  and  correlate  the  work  of  the  departments, 
because  these  executive  officers  had  no  powers  independent 
of  Congress,  and  because  Congress  was  so  dependent 
upon  the  states.  The  intention  of  those  who  drew  up  the 
Articles  seems  to  have  been  to  divide  the  sovereignty  between 
the  states  and  the  national  government ;  to  make  each 
sovereign  within  its  own  sphere.  Political  theorists  are  not 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  15 

in  agreement  as  to-  whether  such  a  division  is  possible,  but 
however  this  may  be,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  no  divi 
sion  was  accomplished  by  this  agreement.  The  powers  of 
the  general  government  were  so  few  that  it  became  essen 
tially  a  creature  of  the  states,  and  they  practically  retained 
the  whole  sovereign  power  during  the  period. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES 

(As  to  the  use  of  this  material,  see  the  last  paragraph  of  the 
Preface,  page  viii.) 

This  chapter  is  but  a  recapitulation  of  physiographic  and  sec 
tional  factors  existing  in  1783,  the  development  of  which  was  traced 
in  volume  one.  As  it  is  becoming  increasingly  common,  however, 
to  begin  the  basic  college  course  in  American  history  at  about  this 
period,  a  few  references  follow,  which  have  been  found  useful  in 
expanding  the  students'  knowledge  of  these  subjects. 

Farrand,  L.,  Basis  of  American  History,  1-22.     Powell,  J.  W.,   Physiog- 
Physiographic  Regions  of  the  United  States.     Shaler,  N.  S.,  Physiog-  raphy> 
raphy  (Winsor,  J.,  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America,  vol. 
IV,  pp.  i-xxx). 

Channing,  E.,  Town  and  County  Government  (Johns  Hopkins  New 
Historical  Studies,  II),  437-474.     Eggleston,  E.,  The  Beginners  of  Ensland- 
a  Nation,  98-188;  315-346.     Fiske,  J.,  The  Beginnings  of  New 
England'.     Howard,  G.   E.,  Local  Constitutional  History,    51-99; 
319-351.     Low,  A.  M.,  The  American  People,  vol.  I.     Mathews, 
L.  K.,  Expansion  of  Neiv  England,  chs.  i,  2. 

Bruce,  P.  A.,  Economic  History  of  Virginia,  vol.  I,  chs.  I,  VII;    Plantation 
vol.  II,  ch.  XX ;  Institutional  History  of  Virginia,  I,  chs.  I  and  III.   area* 
Channing,  Town  and  County  Government  (Johns  Hopkins  Histori 
cal  Studies,  II),  437-489.     Commons,  J.  R.,  etc.,  A  Documentary 
History  of  American  Industrial  Society,  vol.  I.     Doyle,  J.  A.,  The 
English  Colonies  in  America,  Virginia,  101-184.    Eggleston,  E.,  The 
Beginners  of  a  Nation,  ,1-98.     Fiske,    J.,  Old  Virginia  •  and  Her 
Neighbors,  II,  1-44.      Jefferson,  T.,  Notes  on  Virginia   (published 
separately  and  in  his  Writings). 

Howard,    Local    Constitutional    History,     102-117;     358-387.   Middle 
Faust,  A.  B.,  The  German  Element  in  the  United  States,  I,  chs.  5,  6.   States- 


i6 


THE  UNITED    STATES    IN   1783 


The 
frontier. 


Elements  of 
union. 


Articles  of 
Confedera 
tion.  Sources. 

General 
accounts. 


Roosevelt,  T.,  The  Winning  of  the  West,  I,  chs.  I,  V,  VI.  Tur 
ner,  F.  J.,  The  Significance  of  the  Frontier  in  American  History 
(Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,  Report,  1893,  197-227).  Faust,  A.  B.,  German 
Element  in  the  United  States,  I,  chs.  10,  n,  12. 

Frothingham,  R.,  Rise  of  the  Republic,  chs.  Ill,  IV,  VII.  How 
ard,  G.  E.,  Preliminaries  of  the  Revolution,  ch.  I.  Shaler,  N.  S., 
History  of  United  States,  ch.  I. 

American  History  Leaflet,  no.  20.  The  Federalist  (any  edi 
tion),  nos.  15,  16,  21,  22. 

Fiske,  J.,  Critical  Period  of  American  History,  chs.  I  and  II. 
Frothingham,  R.,  Rise  of  the  Republic,  1-32,  101-157,  and  ch.  XII. 
McLaughlin,  A.  C.,  The  Confederation  and  the  Constitution,  35-53. 
Small,  A.,  Beginnings  of  American  Nationality  (Johns  Hopkins 
Historical  Studies,  VIII),  1-89. 


CHAPTER   II 
THE   HISTORY    OF    THE    CONFEDERATION 

THE  chief  claim  of  the  national  government  under  the 
Confederation  to  consideration  lay  in  its  ownership  and  con 
trol  of  lands  west  of  the  mountains,  and  its  permanent  con 
tribution  to  American  development  was  the  enactment  of 
regulations  for  the  survey  and  government  of  this  area. 
The  manner  in  which  it  became  possessed  of  this  immense 
territory  was  as  follows. 

Seven  of  the  colonies,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  Land 
York,  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia,  had  claimed, 
on  the  basis  of  charters  and  of  Indian  treaties,  land  stretch 
ing  westward  to  the  Mississippi.  The  British  government 
had  wished  to  make  the  mountains  the  western  boundary 
of  the  several  colonies,  and  itself  to  direct  the  development 
of  the  Mississippi  valley  on  imperial  lines.  The  resulting 
dispute  was  a  minor  cause  of  the  Revolution.  The  Con 
tinental  Congress  took  up  this  claim  of  the  British  govern 
ment,  and  the  first  draft  of  the  Articles  gave  Congress  the 
right  of  fixing  state  boundaries.  This  power  was  cut  out 
before  the  Articles  were  presented  to  the  states  for  adoption. 
Maryland,  thereupon,  in  behalf  of  the  landless  states,  fearing 
the  size  and  power  that  its  neighbors  might  attain  if  their 
claims  were  granted,  refused  to  accept  the  Articles  unless 
the  western  lands  were  granted  to  the  central  government. 
In  1781  New  York,  whose  claim  was  the  most  dubious,  led 
the  way  with  a  cession.  Maryland  at  once  accepted  the 
Articles,  and  negotiations  began  which  ended  in  cessions 
by  the  other  states.  In  1784  Virginia  ceded  to  the  national 

17 


l8  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE   CONFEDERATION 

government  the  jurisdiction  of  all  the  land  she  claimed  north 
of  the  Ohio,  on  certain  conditions ;  but  she  retained  the  right 
to  grant  the  ownership  of  land  within  a  certain  area,  west  of 
the  Scioto,  in  payment  of  the  land  bounties  promised  her  sol 
diers  during  the  Revolution.  Massachusetts  in  1785  ceded 
her  claims  west  of  the  western  boundary  of  New  York.  Con 
necticut  followed  in  1786,  reserving  on  the  southern  shore  of 
Lake  Erie  a  tract,  about  the  size  of  the  parent  state,  now 
known  as  the  "Western  Reserve."  In  1800,  having  sold  all 
this  land,  Connecticut  yielded  her  jurisdiction  to  the  United 
States  government.  South  Carolina  ceded  her  claims  in 
1787;  and  in  1790  North  Carolina,  having  sold  her  land, 
handed  over  the  jurisdiction.  Georgia  yielded  nothing 
until  1802. 

State  bound-  In  the  meantime  the  power  of  Congress  to  arrange  for 
the  arbitration  of  state  boundaries  was  several  times  resorted 
to.  In  1782  Pennsylvania  was  awarded  land  claimed  by 
Connecticut.  In  1786  suits  between  Massachusetts  and 
New  York,  and  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  were  arranged 
by  satisfactory  compromises.  Later  Congress  sold  to  Penn 
sylvania  the  triangle  between  New  York,  Ohio,  and  Lake 
Erie,  which  was  left  in  its  hands  by  the  cessions,  and  there 
after  state  boundary  disputes  east  of  the  Mississippi  never 
became  serious. 

Land  survey  One  reason  for  the  rapid  settlement  of  these  questions 
was  the  desire  for  securing  titles  on  the  part  of  many  who 
wished  to  buy,  some  for  the  purpose  of  settlement  and  some 
for  speculation.  They  were  unwilling  to  invest  money  while 
titles  were  undetermined.  Once  title  was  clear,  the  demand 
for  land  became  insistent,  and  Congress  was  eager  to  sell 
in  the  hope  of  increasing  its  revenue.  It  therefore  became 
necessary  to  devise  a  system  of  land  sale.  There  was  no  lack 
of  experience  on  this  subject,  for  the  problem  had  existed  from 
the  beginning  of  colonization  in  America  and  had  existed  in 
every  colony.  In  framing  a  national  system  practices  were 


PUBLIC  LAND   SYSTEM  19 

brought  together  from  all  sections  and  incorporated  in  an  act 
passed  in  1785.  The  details  were  worked  out  by  Williamson 
of  North  Carolina,  with  Jefferson  as  an  adviser.  So  satis 
factory  has  it  proved,  that  under  it,  amended  as  it  has  been 
from  time  to  time,  two  thirds  of  our  territory  has  passed 
from  public  to  private  ownership.  The  basic  idea  was  that 
no  land  should  be  sold  until  it  had  been  surveyed.  The  unit 
of  survey  was  the  township,  six  miles  square,  and  divided 
into  thirty-six  sections,  each  one  mile  square  and  numbered 
according  to  a  uniform  system.  The  townships  were  sur 
veyed  by  running  a  base  line  east  and  west,  from  which  per 
pendiculars  were  drawn  every  six  miles.  The  land  between 
each  two  perpendiculars  was  called  a  range,  and  the  ranges 
were  numbered  from  east  to  west.  The  ranges  were  divided 
into  townships  by  lines  drawn  every  six  miles,  parallel  to  the 
base,  and  these  townships  were  numbered  from  the  base, 
south  or  north  as  the  case  might  be.  Section  sixteen  in 
every  township  was,  in  accordance  with  colonial  practice, 
reserved  for  the  support  of  education. 

A  beginning  was  made  by  ordering  the  survey  of  seven 
ranges  west  from  Pennsylvania  and  the  Ohio.  The  terms 
on  which  this  land  was  offered  for  sale  were  unwise,  Con 
gress  overreaching  itself  in  the  desire  for  money.  It  would 
not  sell  land  for  less  than  a  dollar  an  acre,  plus  the  cost 
of  the  survey,  nor  less  than  640  acres,  and  would  not  allow 
credit.  Sales,  moreover,  were  to  be  held,  not  on  the  spot, 
but  in  the  several  states,  and  were  by  auction.  This  ex 
cluded  the  majority  of  those  who  wished  actually  to  settle, 
for  the  bulk  of  the  migratory  population  had  little  money 
or  credit.  States  and  private  land  companies  were  offer 
ing  land  on  better  terms,  and  so  Congress  derived  little 
revenue  from  this  source. 

A  satisfactory  system  of  government  was  as  necessary  as   North- 
a  secure   title.     In    1784   a  plan   drawn   up    by   Jefferson   ordinance, 
was  adopted,  but  it  was  vague,  and  failed  to  satisfy  a  body 


20  THE  HISTORY  OF   THE   CONFEDERATION 

of  Revolutionary  officers,  chiefly  from  New  England,  who  de 
sired  to  settle  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Ohio,  west  of  the 
seven  ranges.  They  organized  as  the  "Ohio  Company  of 
Associates,"  and  in  1786  proposed  to  Congress  to  purchase 
a  large  tract  in  that  region,  using  for  the  purchase  money 
the  certificates  of  indebtedness  for  five  years'  pay  which  they 
had  received  from  Congress  at  the  close  of  the  war  in  place 
of  the  half  pay  for  life  which  had  at  first  been  promised  them. 
Congress,  glad  to  sink  this  debt,  listened  readily  to  their 
suggestions ;  and  Nathan  Dane,  a  delegate  from  Massachu 
setts,  after  consultation  with  their  agent,  Dr.  Manasseh 
Cutler,  drew  up  an  ordinance  which  passed  July  13,  1787, 
and  which  ranks  among  the  most  important  pieces  of  legis 
lation  ever  adopted  in  the  United  States.  It  provided  that 
the  territory  be  ruled  by  a  governor  and  judges,  appointed 
by  the  national  government,  until  the  male  population  over 
twenty-one  reached  5000.  Then  a  legislature  was  to  be 
added,  and  ultimately,  in  accordance  with  the  repeated 
promises  of  Congress  and  the  terms  of  the  Virginia  cession, 
the  territory  was  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union,  divided  into 
not  less  than  three  nor  more  than  five  states.  These  states 
were  to  be  bound  forever  by  certain  conditions :  freedom 
of  person  and  of  religion,  security  of  contracts,  encourage 
ment  of  education,  common  use  of  rivers,  and  that  "There 
shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  .  .  .  other 
wise  than  in  the  punishment  of  crimes."  This  ordinance 
applied  only  to  the  territory  north  of  the  Ohio.  In  1790 
the  first  Congress  under  the  Constitution  organized  the  lands 
ceded  by  North  and  South  Carolina  as  the  Territory  South 
of  the  River  Ohio,  upon  the  same  plan  as  the  Northwest 
Territory,  except  that  slavery  was  not  prohibited.  Kentucky 
was  never  a  territory,  remaining  a  part  of  Virginia  until  ad 
mitted  as  a  state. 

Settlement.         The  Ordinance  of  1787  satisfied  the  Ohio  Company,  which 
promptly  purchased  1,500,000  acres  southwest  of  the  seven 


DIPLOMATIC  PROBLEMS  21 

ranges  and  founded  Marietta  in  1788.  Its  members,  com 
bining  with  the  Connecticut  settlers  that  somewhat  later 
occupied  the  Western  Reserve,  started  a  stream  of  New 
England  and  Middle  States  emigration,  which  balanced  the 
Virginia  veterans  and  the  mountaineers  who  were  occupying 
Kentucky  and  the  military  bounty  lands  of  what  is  now 
southern  and  central  Ohio.  These  two  streams  of  popula 
tion,  representing  differing  traditions  and  political  conceptions, 
were  destined  to  divide  the  country  west  of  the  mountains, 
and  their  conflicts  ultimately  resulted  in  the  great  Civil 
War. 

In  1782  Jacob  Yoder,  a  Pennsylvania  German,  started  The  problem 
down  the  Monongahela  with  a  boatload  of  flour.  Running 
down  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  he  bartered  it  at  New  Or 
leans,  sold  his  boat,  and  took  ship  for  Philadelphia,  trading 
at  Havana  on  the  way,  and  returned  home  across  the  moun 
tains  with  his  profits.  This  voyage  shows  the  natural  and, 
for  the  time,  the  only  outlet  for  the  crude  bulky  products 
of  the  frontier  farms.  Unfortunately  Spain  held  its  key. 
The  United  States  did,  indeed,  claim  to  inherit  from  Eng 
land  the  right  to  navigate  the  Mississippi,  but  there  was 
also  necessary  a  "place  of  deposit,"  where  goods  could  be 
transshipped  and  rafts  broken  up.  Spain  denied  the  one 
with  the  other.  This  was  in  part  because  of  a  dispute  be 
tween  the  two  countries  sis  to  the  southern  boundary  of  the 
United  States,  this  country  claiming  the  parallel  of  31°, 
and  Spain  that  of  32°  30'.  A  more  important  reason  was 
the  hope  of  the  Spanish  government  to  use  the  Mississippi 
as  a  bribe  to  induce  the  western  settlers  to  desert  the  United 
States  and  declare  themselves  either  independent  or  subject 
to  Spam.  If  the  bribe  failed,  a  lash  was  ready,  for  Spain 
was  on  good  terms  with  the  powerful  southwestern  Indians, 
and  could  loose  the  curse  of  frontier  war.  When,  year 
a/ter  year,  Congress  failed  to  open  the  river  or  to  quiet  the 
Indians,  it  was  not  unnatural  that  the  people  of  the  West 


22 


THE  HISTORY    OF  THE  CONFEDERATION 


Diplomatic 
problems  of 
the  north 
west. 


Commercial 
problems. 


lost  their  attachment  to  the  Union,  and  many  entered  more 
or  less  heartily  into  intrigues  with  the  Spaniards. 

To  the  northwest  the  situation  was  similar.  England 
continued  to  hold  Niagara,  Detroit,  and  other  key  points 
within  the  territory  assigned  the  United  States  by  the  treaty 
of  1783,  on  the  plea  that  we  had  not  carried  out  certain 
terms  of  that  treaty.  Through  these  posts  she  controlled 
the  fur  trade,  and  through  the  fur  trade,  the  Indians.  The 
settlement  of  the  lake  region  was  prevented,  and  that  of 
the  north  bank  of  the  Ohio  hindered.  Moreover,  by  means 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  English  controlled  the  prosperity 
of  Vermont,  as  Spain  did  that  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and 
western  Pennsylvania.  The  Vermont  legislature  was  treat 
ing  for  a  separate  commercial  arrangement,  and  English 
officials,  many  of  whom  had  been  Loyalists  during  the  Revolu 
tion,  contemplated  with  pleasure  the  possibility  of  a  dis 
solution  of  the  United  States.  The  West,  as  Washington 
said,  stood  "upon  a  pivot,  the  touch  of  a  feather  would 
turn  them  any  way." 

Independence  brought  to  the  coast  colonies  freedom  from 
the  navigation  acts,  and  all  the  nations  of  Europe  sought 
the  commerce  which  England  could  no  longer  monopolize. 
Treaties  were  made  with  Sweden,  Prussia,  France,  Holland, 
and  Morocco,  and  adventurous  American  seamen  found 
their  way  into  the  Pacific,  bartering  on  the  northwest  coast 
of  America  for  furs  and  ginseng,  which  they  exchanged  at 
Canton  for  the  teas  and  silks  demanded  in  the  United  States. 
In  1788  it  became  necessary  to  appoint  a  commercial  agent 
at  Canton.  Such  new  openings,  however,  scarcely  made 
up  for  the  loss  of  some  old  trade  connections  and  the  dis 
turbance  of  others.  British  protection  had  previously 
enabled  us  to  carry  on  a  considerable  trade  in  the  Mediterra 
nean,  where  the  Barbary  pirates  preyed  on  the  commerce  of 
weaker  nations.  The  new  government  was  unable  to  make  a 
treaty  with  any  of  these  lawless  little  powers  except  Morocco, 


V 

vaimah          V 
.Marys  R. 


UNITED  ST1TES 


[American.settled  terr 
~^  British  settled  territory  and  posts 
_J  Spanish  settled  territory  and  post 


'  Disputed  or  unsettled  boundaries 
Names  of  Indian  Tribes  are  printed  in  blue. 

L  L  POATES  ENGR'S  CO.,  N.Y. 


Longitude  90      West  from         80  Greenwich 


COMMERCIAL  PROBLEMS  23 

and  consequently  trade  beyond  Gibraltar  vanished.  More 
important  was  the  fact  that  Great  Britain  cut  off  most  of 
our  trade  with  the  West  Indian  islands  belonging  to  her. 
Previously  these  colonies  had  received  most  of  their  pro 
visions  and  lumber  from  New  England  and  the  Middle 
States,  and  had  paid  for  it  in  molasses,  rum,  and  money. 
Now  England  allowed  them  to  import  American  goods  only 
when  the  other  English  colonies  could  not  possibly  supply 
the  demand,  and  even  then  ordered  that  the  importation  be 
made  only  in  English  vessels,  whereas,  before  the  Revolution, 
the  trade  had  been  carried  on  almost  entirely  in  American 
shipping.  These  regulations  distressed  American  merchants, 
farmers,  fishermen,  and  shipowners,  and  they  all  asked  for 
relief.  John  Adams  was  sent  as  minister  to  England,  but 
proved  powerless.  Congress  had  no  power  to  threaten 
England  with  retaliation;  the  several  states  pursued  varying 
and  contradictory  commercial  policies,  and  we  had  nothing 
to  offer  England,  for  the  American  people  still  preferred 
English  goods,  and  she  held  as  large  a  proportion  of  our  import 
trade  as  before  the  war.  The  Spanish  trade,  also,  demanded 
attention.  Spain  needed  American  fish  and  flour,  but  mer 
chants  engaged  in  this  trade  labored  under  a  disadvantage, 
owing  to  the  absence  of  a  treaty.  Spain  refused  to  make 
such  a  treaty  unless  we  would  give  up  our  claim  to  navigate 
the  Mississippi.  In  1786  Jay  arranged  a  treaty  whereby 
we  were  to  allow  this  claim  to  stand  over  without  prejudice 
for  twenty-five  years.  Congress  divided  on  the  subject; 
the  Northeast,  to  which  the  commercial  aspect  appealed, 
favored  it;  the  South  opposed  and  defeated  it. 

The  net  result  was  that  the  Confederation  government  proved 
incompetent  to  foster  American  commerce,  and  the  commer 
cial  classes  came  to  desire  a  stronger  central  government. 
Washington  wrote  Mr.  McHenry,  a  delegate  in  Congress, 
August  22,  1785  :  "We  are  either  a  united  people  under  one 
head  and  for  federal  purposes,  or  we  are  thirteen  independ- 


24  THE  HISTORY  OF   THE   CONFEDERATION 

ent  sovereignties,  eternally  counteracting  each  other.  .  .  . 
[The  nations  of  the  world]  must  see  and  feel,  that  the  Union 
or  the  States  individually  are  sovereigns,  as  best  suits  their 
purposes ;  in  a  word,  that  we  are  one  nation  to-day  and  thir 
teen  to-morrow.  Who  will  treat  with  us  on  such  terms?  " 
Financial  The  paper  money  issued  by  the  Continental  Congress 

disorder.  had  been  ^^3^  but  the  national  debt  remained.  This 
amounted  to  about  $45,000,000,  of  which  about  $8,000,000 
was  due  to  foreign  nations  and  bankers.  The  states  were 
annually  asked  for  the  sums  of  money  required,  but  they 
seldom  responded  promptly,  often  paid  in  their  own  depre 
ciated  paper,  and  sometimes  not  at  all.  Altogether  they 
scarcely  supplied  the  modest  running  expenses  of  the  govern 
ment,  about  half  a  million  a  year.  The  interest  on  the 
domestic  debt  remained  unpaid,  and  the  notes  and  certifi 
cates  which  represented  it  fell  to  about  fifteen  cents  on  the 
dollar;  the  interest  on  the  foreign  debt  was  met  by  addi 
tional  loans  from  Dutch  bankers,  obtained  by  John  Adams. 
Jefferson  outlined  the  schenle  of  metallic  coinage  with  the 
dollar  as  the  unit,  which  has  ever  since  been  used,  but  during 
the  Confederation  only  copper  cents  were  coined.  In  1781 
Congress,  on  the  advice  of  Robert  Morris,  established  the 
Bank  of  North  America,  the  first  real  bank  in  the  country. 
The  power  of  Congress  to  grant  a  bank  charter  was  questioned, 
and  to  strengthen  the  bank's  position  a  Pennsylvania  state 
charter  was  obtained  in  1782.  This  was  revoked  in  1785  and 
the  bank  remained  in  a  questionable  position  until  1787,  when 
Pennsylvania  granted  a  new  charter  under  which  the  bank  has 
since  operated.  During  this  period  of  uncertainty  the  bank 
was  naturally  of  little  assistance  to  the  national  government. 
Conditions  grew  steadily  worse,  the  requisitions  of  1786  were 
scarcely  heeded  by  the  states,  delegates  neglected  to  attend 
Congress,  and  those  chosen  were  men  of  smaller  caliber  than 
in  the  first  enthusiastic  days  of  the  Revolution.  Lack  of 
power  to  accomplish  results  brought  about  lack  of  interest. 


STATE   GOVERNMENTS  25 

The  real  political  life  and  interest  of  the  people  centered  State  legis- 
in  the  state  governments.  Leaders  like  Patrick  Henry,  a^d°religfous. 
John  Hancock,  and  George  Clinton  served  as  governors. 
The  judiciary  in  nearly  all  the  states  ranked  high.  Under 
the  new  constitutions,  established  after  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  it  rested  upon  the  authority  of  the  people  and 
not  of  an  alien  government  as  before  the  Revolution.  So 
great  was  the  respect  for  its  personnel  and  the  confidence  in  its 
honesty,  that  in  some  states  it  ventured  to  stand  between 
the  legislature  and  the  state  constitution,  declaring  laws 
unconstitutional  and  therefore  void,  thus  paving  the  way 
for  the  high  position  subsequently  taken  by  the  national 
Supreme  Court.  Such  cases  during  the  Confederation  were 
those  of  Holmes  v.  Walton  in  New  Jersey  in  1780,  Caton  v. 
Commonwealth  of  Virginia  in.  1782,  Trevett  v.  Weeden  in  Rhode 
Island  in  1786,  and  Bayard  v.  Singleton  in  North  Carolina  in 
1787.  In  1791  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Hampshire  came 
to  a  similar  conclusion  in  the  case  of  Oilman  v.  McClary. 
Some  attempt  was  made  to  render  judicial  processes  more 
simple  and  less  expensive.  In  Virginia  the  laws  of  entail 
and  primogeniture,  by  which  great  estates  were  kept  intact 
and  passed  on  from  eldest  son  to  eldest  son,  were  abolished. 
In  Virginia  also,  after  a  hard  fight,  Madison  and  Jefferson 
succeeded  in  disestablishing  the  state  church,  and  in  most  of 
the  states  some  steps  were  taken  towards  the  separation  of 
church  and  state,  though  it  was  to  be  many  years  before 
offkeholding  was  made  universally  independent  of  religious 
belief,  and  taxes  for  the  support  of  religion  were  abolished. 

Special  interest  attaches  to  the  antislavery  agitation  of  Antisiavery 
the  period.  The  Quakers  had  always  opposed  slavery,  and 
there  had  been  a  few  other  voices  crying  in  the  wilderness. 
The  region  north  of  the  Carolinas  had  sufficient  slaves,  in 
fact,  more  than  it  wanted,  and  the  colonies  there  had  endeav 
ored  to  get  the  consent  of  the  English  government  to  the 
prohibition  of  their  importation.  During  the  Revolution, 


26  THE  HISTORY  OF   THE  CONFEDERATION 

many  states  had  prohibited  the  trade.  Slavery  had,  in  fact, 
ceased  to  pay  except  in  the  newly  exploited  districts  of  the 
extreme  South.  Under  these  circumstances  the  equality 
doctrines  of  the  Revolution  were  readily  extended  to  the  ne 
groes,  at  least  to  the  extent  of  causing  the  majority  of  the 
leaders  of  thought  to  condemn  slavery.  There  began  an 
era  of  abolition.  Vermont  led  the  way  in  1777.  The  Massa 
chusetts  constitution  of  1780  was  later  interpreted  as  abol 
ishing  slavery,  and  New  Hampshire  followed  in  1783. 
Pennsylvania  in  1780  began  gradual  emancipation,  and  similar 
laws  were  adopted  in  1784  by  Connecticut  and  Rhode 
Island.  New  York  and  New  Jersey  followed  in  1799  and 
1804.  The  number  of  slaves  actually  freed  was  small ;  some 
were  sold  south,  and  some  continued  to  be  held  under  the 
gradual  emancipation  acts,  except  in  Massachusetts,  Ver 
mont,  and  New  Hampshire,  almost  until  the  Civil  War.  In 
Virginia  there  was  an  equal  disposition  to  free  the  slaves, 
but  the  property  sacrifice  would  have  been  greater,  and  the 
future  of  the  freed  negroes  was  too  uncertain.  The  move 
ment,  therefore,  halted  at  the  Mason-Dixon  line,  while  the 
Northwest  Ordinance,  prohibiting  slavery  north  of  the  Ohio, 
carried  the  division  to  the  Mississippi,  and  a  new  sectional 
ism,  ominous  for  the  future,  but  by  no  means  sharp  at  this 
time,  was  thus  foreshadowed. 
Economic  Even  the  state  governments  were  not  able  to  deal  with  all 

their  problems  successfully.  The  Revolution,  like  all  wars, 
left  behind  it  much  economic  distress.  Not  only  was  there 
destruction  of  wealth,  but  also  much  wealth  changed  hands. 
To  a  great  degree  the  rich  grew  richer  and  the  poor  poorer. 
This  was  intensified  during  the  Confederation,  for  the  coast 
region  and  the  merchants  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the 
war  sooner  than  the  farmers  of  the  interior,  who  found  taxes 
heavier,  but  no  new  means  of  making  money.  In  1783  and 
1784  there  were  large  imports  of  long  desired  English  goods, 
and  many,  particularly  the  farmers,  thinking  that  independ- 


STATE   GOVERNMENTS  27 

ence  would  mean  immediate  good  times,  bought  more  than 
they  could  pay  for.  They  became  indebted  to  the  merchants, 
who  came  to  constitute  a  creditor  class.  Taxes,  too,  were 
heavier  than  before  the  Revolution,  because  of  the  state 
debts  created  to  carry  on  the  war,  and  they  were  levied 
chiefly  upon  landowners.  The  farmers  came  to  hate  those 
to  whom  they  owed  money,  the  lawyers  who  attempted  to 
collect  the  debts,  and  the  judges  who  insisted  upon  payment, 
or  sent  the  debtor  to  prison  in  accordance  with  the  law  of 
that  day.  In  the  South,  many  of  the  merchants  belonged 
to  the  debtor  class.  The  chief  political  question  that  divided 
these  classes  was  that  of  currency.  Congress,  as  has  been 
stated,  had  repudiated  the  paper  money  it  had  issued  dur 
ing  the  Revolution,  and  furnished  only  a  small  amount, 
which  was  speedily  withdrawn,  after  the  war.  The  ques 
tion  was,  therefore,  left  to  the  states.  There  was  undoubtedly 
too  little  money  for  the  needs  of  the  country.  Gold  and 
silver  were  sent  abroad  to  pay  for  our  imports,  which 
were  very  heavy  during  the  first  years  after  the  peace,  really 
exceeding  the  capacity  of  the  country  to  pay  for  them.  The 
debtor  class  demanded  the  issuance  of  unlimited  amounts 
of  paper,  which  would  make  it  easy  to  pay  debts  and  taxes. 
This  desire  for  cheap  money  was  not  the  result  of  dishon 
esty,  but  of  lack  of  financial  experience.  The  colonies  gener 
ally  had  been  a  debtor  community,  and  before  the  Revolution 
had  indulged  in  many  dangerous  financial  experiments,  and 
had  been  kept  from  others  only  by -the  restraining  hand  of 
England.  Moreover,  the  Revolution  had  spread  the  idea 
that  a  legislature  was  omnipotent  and  could  do  anything 
the  people  desired ;  that  it  could  make  value  where  no  value 
was  before,  The  paper-money  party  was  the  conservative 
American  party ;  the  sound-money  party  was  a  progressive 
element  standing  for  ideas  associated  with  England  and 
composed  of  men  interested  in  loaning  money,  a  new  business 
in  America.  In  .the  Carolinas,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey, 


28 


THE   HISTORY  OF   THE  CONFEDERATION 


Shays's  Re 
bellion. 


Tendencies 
toward  dis 
solution. 


and  New  York,  the  paper-money  party  succeeded  to  a  degree. 
In  Rhode  Island  it  gained  full  control.  Currency  was  issued, 
for  the  redemption  of  which  there  was  little  hope,  and  it 
was  voted  that  if  the  creditor  refused  it,  the  debt  could 
be  absolved  by  depositing  the  amount  at  court  and  adver 
tising  the  fact  in  the  newspapers,  and  that  the  creditor  in 
such  case  be  deprived  of  the  franchise.  Such  notices  began 
"Know  ye,"  and  the  papers  were  so  filled  with  them  that 
that  phrase  became  the  nickname  of  the  party.  Creditors 
fled  their  debtors,  and  were  brought  into  court  for  refusing 
to  accept  payment.  The  state  supreme  court,  in  the  case  of 
Trevett  v.  Weeden,  decided  that  the  law  was  unconstitutional, 
whereupon  the  legislature  began  an  attack  upon  the  court. 

While  the  Rhode  Island  government  ceased  to  be  a  pro 
tection  to  property,  that  of  Massachusetts  was  threatened 
with  overthrow  or  dismemberment  for  protecting  it.  There, 
the  debtors  obtained  in  1782  the  right  to  tender,  at  prices 
to  be  fixed  by  arbitration,  cattle  or  indeed  almost  any  form 
of  property  as  payment  for  debt,  but  paper  money  was  re 
fused.  Taxes  were  high,  state  officers  received  what  seemed 
to  the  farmer  extravagant  salaries,  and  lawyers,  who  were 
universally  distrusted,  grew  rich.  Under  the  lead  of  Captain 
Shays,  the  movement  for  relief  assumed,  during  the  fall  and 
early  winter  of  1786-1787,  an  insurrectionary  form  in  the 
western  counties.  Thanks  to  the  energy  of  Governor 
Bowdoin  the  insurrection  was  put  down,  but  the  move 
ment  was  not  stamped  out.  Governor  Bowdoin  was 
defeated  for  reelection,  and  there  was  widespread  sympathy 
for  Shays. 

The  states  were  not  only  torn  by  politics  but  were  threatened 
with  dissolution.  In  Maine  and  in  the  Berkshires  there  was 
talk  of  secession  from  the  rest  of  Massachusetts;  Pennsylvania 
and  North  Carolina  were  similarly  threatened  with  disrup 
tion;  and  Kentucky  and  Virginia  were  trying  to  agree  to 
separate.  Vermont,  which  was  an  unrecognized  state,  occu- 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES  29 

pying  territory  claimed  by  New  Hampshire,  New  York,  and 
Massachusetts,  at  one  time  seemed  likely  to  annex  the  New 
Hampshire  towns  in  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut  River ;  at 
another,  to  be  divided  by  the  union  of  all  the  towns  in 
that  valley  to  form  a  new  state.  States  seemed  as  liable  to 
dissolution  as  the  Confederation.  John  Marshall  wrote,  Jan 
uary  5,  1787:  "I  fear  .  .  .  that  they  have  truth  on  their 
side  who  say  that  man  is  incapable  of  governing  himself.  I 
fear  we  may  live  to  see  another  revolution."  It  seemed 
that  the  American  people,  instead  of  founding  a  nation, 
were  destined  to  be  resolved  into  an  indefinite  number  of 
constantly  changing  political  units,  whose  conflicting  inter 
ests  would  scarcely  allow  them  to  live  forever  at  peace,  the 
one  with  another,  and  that  their  separation  from  the  British 
Empire  was  but  a  first  step  toward  anarchy. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES 

American  History  Leaflets,  nos.  22  and  23.     Paine,  Thomas,   Western 
The  Public  Good,  Source?.3' 

Adams,  B.  H.,  Maryland's  Influence  in   Founding  a  National  Historical 
Commonwealth  (Johns  Hopkins  Historical  Studies,  III,  no.  i).    Ford,   accounts< 
A.  C.,  Colonial  Precedents  of  Our  National  Land  System.     Hins- 
dale,  B.  A.,  Old  Northwest,  chs.  XV,  XVI.     McLaughlin,  The  Con 
federation,  108-138.     McMaster,  J.  B.,  People  of  the  United  States, 

I,  147-167 ;  III,  89-113.     Roosevelt,  T.,  The  Winning  of  the  West, 

II,  Treat,  P.  J.,  The  National  Land  System.     Turner,  F.  J.,  West 
ern  State  Making  (Am.  Hist.  Review,  I,  70-87  ;  251-269). 

Adams,  John-,  Works,  III,  353-406.  Coxe,  Tench,  A  Brief  Commerce 
Examination  of  Lord  Sheffield's  Observations  on  the  Commerce  sources^6 
of  the  United  States. 

Bancroft,  G.,  United  States  (1883),  VI,  136-153.     Fisher,  S.,   Historical 
American  Trade  Regulations  before  1784  (Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,  Papers,   accounts- 

III,  467-496) .     Hill,  W. ,  First  Stages  of  the  Tariff  Policy  (Am.  Econ. 
Assoc.,  Publications,  VIII,  no.  6).     Lyman,  T.,  Diplomacy  of  the 
United  States,  II,  ch.  IV.     McLaughlin,  The  Confederation,  71-89. 
Sumner,  W.  G.,  The  Financier  and  Finances  of  the  American  Revo 
lution,  chs.  XIII-XV. 


3° 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE   CONFEDERATION 


Reform  legis 
lation. 


Economic 
conditions. 


Hunt,  G.,  Madison  and  Religious  Liberty  (Am.  Hist.  Assoc., 
Report,  1901, 1, 163-171).  Jameson,  J.  F.,  Introduction  to  the  Study 
of  the  Constitutional  and  Political  History  of  the  United  States  (Johns 
Hopkins  Hist.  Studies,  IV,  no.  5).  Jameson,  J.  F.,  Essays  on  the 
Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States,  no.  5.  Thorpe,  F.  W., 
Constitutional  History  of  the  A  merican  People,  I,  60-1 3  2 .  Williams, 
G.  W.,  History  of  the  Negro  Race,  chs.  XXVI-XXXI. 

Bates,  F.  G.,  Rhode  Island  and  the  Formation  of  the  Union  (Co 
lumbia  University  Studies  in  Political  Science,  etc.,  vol.  X,  no.  2). 
McLaughlin,  The  Confederation,  138-168.  McMaster,  United 
States,  I,  299-354.  Minot,  G.  R.,  The  Shays' 's  Rebellion.  Warren, 
J.  W.  P.,  The  Confederation  and  the  Shays's  Rebellion  (Am.  Hist. 
Review,  XI,  42-68). 


CHAPTER  III 
THE   FORMATION   OF  THE   CONSTITUTION 

ALTHOUGH  on  the  surface  all  was  disorder  and  dissolution,  Construc- 
during  the  period  of  the  Confederation,  tendencies  were  at  work 
in  favor  of  a  stronger  union.  An  illustration  of  such  nationaliz 
ing  influences  was  the  action  of  various  religious  bodies.  The 
Episcopalians  and  the  Methodists  adopted  national  constitu 
tions.  The  Catholics  received  from  the  Pope  a  national 
organization,  while  the  Presbyterians  adapted  their  system, 
already  national  in  character,  to  the  conditions  of  independ 
ence  and  formed  a  partial  alliance  with  the  Congregation- 
alists  of  New  England.  Far-sighted  thinkers  became  more 
and  more  convinced  that  the  only  remedy  for  the  exist 
ing  political  evils  also  lay  in  creating  a  stronger  central 
government.  Franklin  had,  in  fact,  in  a  preliminary  draft 
for  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  sketched  a  much  stronger 
government  than  that  adopted ;  and  even  before  the  Articles 
were  in  force,  Hamilton  had  begun  an  attack  upon  them, 
based  on  their  insufficiency.  The  leader  of  the  strong 
government  party,  however,  was  Washington,  who,  with 
the  difficulties  of  waging  war  in  the  disorganized  condition 
of  the  country  fresh  in  his  mind,  continued  to  impress  upon 
his  wide  circle  of  personal  acquaintances  the  need  of  action, 
and  who  found  in  young  James  Madison  a  lieutenant  that 
spared  no  labor  in  collecting  and  marshaling  facts  and  argu 
ments.  Every  year  there  were  added  to  these  leaders, 
supporters  from  among  the  business,  property-holding,  and 
professional  classes.  Some  of  these  thought  that  only  a 
monarchy  could  save  the  country,  while  the  disorders  in 

3* 


32          THE   FORMATION  OF  THE    CONSTITUTION 

Rhode   Island   and   Massachusetts   convinced   many,   even 
decided  Republicans,  that  the  central  government  must  be 
at  least  strong  enough  to  preserve  order. 
Attempts  to          At  first,  in  1781,  it  was  attempted  to  amend  the  Articles 

amend  the         ,         .    .        _ 

Articles.  by  giving  Congress  power  to  collect  an  import  duty  of  five  per 
cent  to  pay  the  debt.  This  was  defeated  by  Rhode  Island 
on  the  claim  that  "The  power  of  the  purse  is  the  touchstone 
of  freedom."  The  real  reason  was  that  Rhode  Island  was 
attracting  trade  by  underbidding  its  neighbors  by  means  of 
a  lower  tariff.  Then  in  1783  Congress  requested  power  to 
lay  certain  duties  for  twenty-five  years.  This  was  defeated 
by  New  York,  where  the  state  treasury  was  growing  rich 
from  duties  on  goods  imported  to  be  used  in  other  states, 
and  there  was  consequently  jealousy  of  a  federal  impost. 
A  third  request,  to  allow  Congress  to  pass  navigation  acts 
against  countries  refusing  favorable  commercial  treaties,  was 
discussed  for  three  years  without  tangible  result. 

Calling  of  the  The  failure  of  these  attempts  at  amendment  strengthened 
the  demand  for  more  radical  action.  Hamilton,  Thomas 
Paine,  Pelatiah  Webster,  and  others  called  for  a  constitu 
tion  to  be  drawn,  as  later  state  constitutions  had  been,  by  a 
convention  summoned  for  that  special  purpose.  The  first 
step  was  taken  in  1785  at  Mount  Vernon,  where  commis 
sioners  from  Virginia  and  Maryland  had  met  to  settle  a 
dispute  as  to  the  navigation  of  the  Potomac  River.  As  a 
result  of  discussion  there,  Virginia  asked  the  states  to  send 
delegates  to  Annapolis  to  consider  the  condition  of  commerce 
generally.  The  meeting  at  Annapolis,  held  in  1786,  was 
attended  by  delegates  from  only  five  states,  and  it  recom 
mended  that  a  convention  be  held  the  next  spring  at  Phila 
delphia  for  the  purpose  of  devising  amendments  to  the 
Articles.  This  call  was  indorsed  by  Congress  after  some 
hesitation,  and  on  May  25,  1787,  the  convention  met. 

Characteris-          The   Philadelphia  convention  was  a  very  different  body 

convention,      from  any  that  had  previously  assembled  in  America.     Fifty- 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  33 

five  members  attended,  and  thirty-nine  signed  the  Constitu 
tion.  Of  the  thirty-nine,  only  six  had  signed  the  Dec 
laration  of  Independence,  and  only  four  the  Articles  of 
Confederation.  The  members  represented  not  a  younger 
generation,  but  another  element  in  the  same  generation. 
They  were  less  democratic,  many  distrusted  the  people,  and 
nearly  all  cared  less  about  political  theory  than  about  good 
government.  The  majority  of  the  members  were  well  edu 
cated  ;  there  were  many  graduates  of  American  colleges,  four 
had  been  students  of  law  in  the  Temple  in  London,  James 
Wilson  of  Pennsylvania  had  attended  three  Scotch  uni 
versities.  There  was  much  legal  knowledge,  and  Blackstone, 
the  expounder  of  the  common  law,  was  used  more  than  Locke, 
the  political  philosopher  and  the  guide  of  the  Revolutionary 
statesmen.  The  great  majority  belonged  to  the  rising  strong 
government  party ;  partly  because  the  Revolutionary  leaders, 
such  as  Clinton,  Samuel  Adams,  and  Patrick  Henry,  did 
not  care  to  attend.  The  men  who  preached  the  Revolu 
tion  were  not  to  be  the  leaders  in  raising  up  a  new  govern 
ment. 

The  constitution  drawn  up  by  this  convention  was  not,  Conflicting 
as  is  often  claimed,  an  inspiration;  rather  it  was  a  compro 
mise.  There  is  hardly  an  important  clause  which  was  not 
the  result  of  mutual  concession,  and  not  a  member  was  entirely 
satisfied.  There  was  a  conflict  of  interest  between  the  large 
and  the  small  states,  between  the  states  with  a  large  slave 
population  and  those  with  few  or  no  slaves,  between  the  com 
mercial  and  the  agricultural  districts,  between  those  members 
who  wanted  the  central  government  to  be  as  strong  as  pos 
sible  and  those  who  wished  it  to  be  only  as  strong  as  was 
necessary.  Though  the  latter  were  outnumbered  in  the 
convention,  they  spoke  with  weight,  for  they  represented 
those  powerful  leaders  who  were  not  present,  and  many  voters 
whose  acquiescence  it  would  be  necessary  to  secure  before 
putting  any  plan  into  effect. 


34 


THE  FORMATION  OF  THE   CONSTITUTION 


Leaders. 


Temper  of 
convention. 


Madison,  as  the  mouthpiece  of  Washington  and  the 
drafter  of  the  Virginia  plan  which  was  presented  as  a  sort  of 
starting  point  for  work,  was  the  most  active  leader  of  the 
strong  government  party.  Hamilton's  views  were  so  extreme 
as  to  deprive  him  of  some  of  the  weight  he  might  otherwise 
have  possessed,  and  Franklin  elected  to  play  the  part  of 
peacemaker.  Roger  Sherman  of  Connecticut  and  James 
Wilson  of  Pennsylvania  contributed  much  practical  experi 
ence  and  legal  knowledge,  while  a  number  of  younger  men, 
as  Charles  Pinckney  of  South  Carolina,  who  came  with  a 
well-developed  plan  of  his  own,  and  Rufus  King  of  Massa 
chusetts,  were  constantly  on  the  floor.  Mason  of  Virginia, 
Luther  Martin  of  Maryland,  and  Paterson  of  New  Jersey, 
who  also  presented  a  model  of  his  own,  were  among  the  most 
consistent  representatives  of  the  weak  government  party. 
With  Washington  as  presiding  officer,  and  with  closed  doors, 
which  allowed  the  discussion  to  become  confidential,  the 
convention  went  to  work  to  harmonize  the  conflicting 
interests. 

No  body  of  men  ever  worked  more  conscientiously  or  with 
a  more  sincere  desire  of  coming  to  an  agreement,  but  again 
and  again  it  seemed  as  if  their  differences  would  prove  abso 
lutely  irreconcilable  ;  time  and  again  points  were  voted  in 
committee  of  the  whole  only  to  be  reconsidered  and  deter 
mined  differently  in  the  regular  session.  On  June  28  Frank 
lin  referred  to  "  the  diversity  of  opinion  that  had  prevailed 
throughout  the  deliberations  of  the  convention.  ...  In 
this  situation  groping  as  we  were  in  the  dark,  how  has  it 
happened  that  nobody  has  thought  of  applying  for  light  to 
that  powerful  friend  who  alone  can  supply  it  ?  "  His  proposal 
for  prayers,  however,  was  rejected  lest  the  public  take  alarm. 
By  September  the  long  four  months'  debate  had  cleared  the 
minds  of  the  delegates  as  to  many  of  the  fundamental  prob 
lems  of  government,  and  when  at  length  an  instrument  was 
framed  the  majority  found  more  joy  in  its  successful  com- 


THE  COMPROMISES  35 

pletion  than  grief  at  the  fact  that  they  had  been  forced  to 
compromise  many  of  the  convictions  with  which  they  had 
entered  the  convention. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  the  compromises  was  with  Compromises 
regard  to  representation.  The  small  states  were  unwilling 
to  forego  the  equal  voice  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed ; 
the  large  states  were  determined  to  have  a  change.  While 
this  discussion  was  progressing,  it  was  decided  that  the 
legislature  should  consist  of  two  houses,  and  Roger  Sherman 
suggested  the  plan  that  was  adopted:  of  having  the  states 
represented  by  two  members  each  in  the  Senate,  and  accord 
ing  to  some  equitable  ratio  in  the  House.  The  Senate 
could  check  any  legislation  injurious  to  the  small  states, 
and  the  House,  any  unfavorably  affecting  the  large.  A 
similar  compromise  was  made  with  regard  to  the  election  of 
the  President,  who  was  to  be  voted  for  in  the  first  instance 
by  an  electoral  college  in  which  each  state  was  to  have  as 
many  members  as  it  had  senators  and  representatives.  In 
case  no  person  received  a  majority,  which  it  was  supposed 
might  frequently  occur,  the  election  was  to  be  made  by  the 
House,  the  delegation  of  each  state  having  one  vote.  With 
these  compromises  the  conflict  of  large  and  small  states 
disappeared  forever.  It  was,  indeed,  only  a  temporary  and 
artificial  alignment. 

There  was  much  discussion  as  to  what  should  be  the 
equitable  ratio  upon  which  representation  in  the  House  was 
to  rest.  Ultimately  it  was  decided  to  accept  population, 
and  this  raised  the  question  as  to  whether  slaves  should  or 
should  not  be  counted.  They  certainly  contributed  to  the 
wealth  of  the  country,  but  on  the  other  hand  they  were  not 
voters,  and  the  vote  of  a  free  man  in .  a  state  with  slaves 
would  count  for  much  more  than  in  a  state  with  few  or  no 
slaves.  This  question  was  settled  according  to  a  compromise 
which  had  been  almost  unanimously  recommended  by  Con 
gress  to  the  states  in  1783,  to  the  effect  that  direct  taxes  be 


36          THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION 

apportioned  according  to  population,  five  slaves  being 
counted  as  three  free  persons.  Now  it  was  agreed  that  both 
representation  and  direct  taxes  be  apportioned  according  to 
this  ratio.  If  the  slave  states  received  less  representation, 
they  also  would  pay  smaller  taxes.  The  fact  that  direct 
taxes  were  levied  only  three  times  before  the  freeing  of  the 
slaves  removed,  in  practice,  one  of  the  compensating  ele 
ments  of  this  compromise,  but  the  compromise  of  three  for 
five  remained,  and,  although  both  parties  to  it  subsequently 
complained,  it  was  probably  the  fairest  arrangement  which 
could  have  been  made  at  that  time. 

Compromise  Another  compromise  was  between  the  northern  commer- 
ciafpow^rs"  cial  states  that  wanted  Congress  to  have  power  to  assist  the 
merchant  marine  by  passing  navigation  acts,  and  the  extreme 
southern  states.  These  latter  feared  that  such  legislation 
would  increase  freight  rates,  and  particularly  that  the  power 
of  Congress  might  be  used  to  prohibit  the  importation  of 
slaves,  and  they,  therefore,  wished  to  forbid  the  passage  of 
such  acts  except  by  a  two-thirds  vote ;  that  is  to  say,  practi 
cally,  except  with  their  consent.  It  was  agreed,  finally, 
that  navigation  laws  be  allowed  if  passed  by  a  simple  major 
ity,  and  that  Congress  should  not  prohibit  the  slave  trade 
for  twenty  years. 

The  question  Throughout  the  convention  there  was  continual  conflict 
eignty!r"  between  those  who  wished  the  new  national  government 
to  be  supreme  and  those  who  wished  it  to  be  the  agent  of  the 
states.  In  the  end,  the  question  was  evaded  rather  than 
settled.  As  the  majority  of  the  members  belonged  to  the 
national  party,  they  inserted  many  clauses  tending  in  that 
direction,  particularly  one  to  the  effect  that  the  Constitu 
tion,  treaties,  and  the  laws  of  Congress  be  the  "supreme  law 
of  the  land"  and  binding  upon  the  judges  of  every  court. 
Still  they  did  not  venture  to  be  absolutely  explicit,  because 
their  work  had  to  be  submitted  to  the  people  of  the  states, 
who  they  feared  would  reject  a  plan  plainly  and  strongly 


THE   COMPROMISES  37 

nationalistic.  The  document  that  they  drew  up  was,  there 
fore,  ambiguous  to  the  extent  that  it  did  not  specifically  vest 
the  sovereignty  either  in  state  or  nation.  The  convention 
probably  leaned  toward  the  latter  position,  but,  as  Madison 
points  out,  in  interpreting  the  Constitution,  the  ultimate 
authority  is  not  the  opinion  of  the  convention  that  drew  it 
up,  but  the  understanding  of  the  people,  particularly  the 
members  of  the  state  conventions,  who  made  it  law.  It  is 
probable  that  a  majority  of  these  supposed  that  the  Consti 
tution  divided  the  sovereignty  between  state  and  nation; 
some  believed  that  all  sovereignty  remained  in  the  states, 
and  the  central  government  was  merely  an  agent  to  perform 
certain  functions;  few,  if  any,  conceived  that  the  states 
were  giving  up  all  their  sovereignty  to  the  new  government. 

The  majority  in  the  Philadelphia  convention  hoped  that  Elasticity  of 
they  were  giving  enough  power  to  the  national  government  to  tion.  ° 
make  it  self-dependent;  and  they  sought  to  avoid  friction 
between  state  and  nation  by  reducing  their  relations  to  a 
minimum  and  allowing  the  nation  to  enforce  its  laws  directly 
upon  the  individual,  and  not  upon  the  states  as  had  been 
the  case  in  the  Confederation.  They  laid  upon  the  citizen 
a  double  duty  and  allegiance.  Friction  could  not  be  alto 
gether  avoided,  and  ultimately  the  country  divided  in  civil 
war  over  the  question  of  sovereignty  and  its  consequences. 
Yet  this  does  not  condemn  the  compromise  arrived  at. 
The  country  did  not  divide  Decause  the  Constitution  was 
ambiguous,  but  the  Constitution  was  ambiguous  because 
the  country  was  already  divided.  In  its  elasticity  lay  its 
strength.  Parties  could  differ  as  to  its  meaning  and  still  be 
loyal  and  united  in  its  support.  If  it  had  explicitly  given  the 
sovereignty  to  the  nation,  it  would  not  have  been  accepted; 
if  it  had  given  sovereignty  to  the  states,  it  could  not  have  been 
adapted,  as  it  has  been,  to  the  growing  needs  of  national 
activity. 

Questions  as  to  the  form  of  government  were  more  easily 


THE  FORMATION  OF  THE   CONSTITUTION 


Origin  of  the 
Constitution. 


The  form 
of  govern 
ment. 


settled.  The  first  formal  resolution  presented  to  the  conven 
tion  was:  "That  a  national  government  ought  to  be  estab 
lished,  consisting  of  a  supreme  legislature,  executive,  and 
judiciary/'  This  resolution  was  adopted  and  of  itself  re 
moved  many  difficulties.  The  members  knew  how  to  form 
a  government,  and  a  government  of  three  departments; 
they  had  but  to  look  about  them  at  the  state  constitutions 
framed  within  the  last  dozen  years,  and  to  recall  the  experi 
ence  of  colonial  times.  It  was  the  attempt  to  form  a  league 
of  states,  a  confederation,  which  had  proved  unsuccessful 
because  it  was  a  novel  task.  Madison's  carefully  analyzed 
plans  of  confederacies,  ancient  and  modern,  which  he  had 
brought  to  Philadelphia,  became  almost  worthless.  The 
provisions  that  survived  debate  were  practically  all  based 
on  American  precedent,  and  in  most  cases  upon  prac 
tices  running  back  into  colonial  times.  In  discussion, 
indeed,  the  English  constitution  was  often  cited,  but  it  was 
the  English  constitution  as  found  in  Blackstone,  who  de 
scribed  it  as  it  had  existed  in  the  seventeenth  century  when 
its  customs  had  been  transplanted  to  America,  and  not  the 
actual  practice  in  1789.  Members  saw  in  England  three 
coequal  departments,  not  the  supreme  legislature  guided  by 
a  cabinet  which  actually  existed,  and  so  their  attempt  to 
follow  English  example  but  reenforced  American  tradition. 
The  chief  discussion  arose  from  the  fear,  felt  by  some  of 
the  more  democratic  members,  of  intrusting  the  executive 
power  to  a  single  man.  Defeated  in  the  attempt  to  secure 
a  multiple  executive,  these  delegates  endeavored  to  limit  the 
President  by  an  executive  council.  This  also  was  voted 
down,  but  the  Senate  was  given  a  check  on  his  most  impor 
tant  executive  acts,  its  "advice  and  consent"  being  made 
necessary  for  the  making  of  appointments  and  of  treaties. 
The  leading  ideas  that  controlled  the  arrangement  of  details 
were  those  of  the  threefold  separation  of  powers,  and  of 
checks  and  balances.  The  legislature  was  dependent  upon 


THE   CONSTITUTION  BEFORE  THE  PEOPLE          39 

the  people  alone ;  the  House,  whose  members  were  elected  for 
two  years,  stood  for  the  masses ;  the  Senate,  whose  members 
were  to  be  chosen  by  the  legislatures  of  the  states  and  to 
serve  six  years,  were  expected  to  represent  wealth  and  influ 
ence,  as  well  as  the  integrity  of  the  states.  The  President 
was  independent  of  the  legislature,  for  its  members  could  not 
serve  as  electors,  and,  even  if  he  should  be  chosen  by  the 
House,  it  would  be  to  serve  a  fixed  term  of  four  years  unless 
he  committed  some  misdemeanor  so  serious  as  to  call  for 
impeachment.  The  executive  could  raise  no  money  or  troops 
without  the  vote  of  the  legislature;  the  legislature  could 
pass  a  bill  over  the  President's  veto  only  by  two-thirds 
majority.  The  Supreme  Court  was  to  be  appointed  by  the 
President,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate ; 
but  as  the  justices  were  to  serve  for  good  behavior,  they 
became  practically  independent  on  appointment.  Thus, 
legislature,  executive,  and  judiciary  stood  each  uncontrolled 
by  the  others,  but  unable  to  take  serious  action  without  the 
others'  consent.  Amendments  to  the  Constitution  could  be 
formally  proposed  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  both  houses  of 
Congress,  and  become  a  part  of  the  Constitution  on  their 
acceptance  by  three  quarters  of  the  states.  On  application 
by  the  legislatures  of  two  thirds  of  the  states,  Congress  was  to 
call  a  convention  to  propose  amendments. 

The  Constitution,  finally  drawn  up  in  the  lucid  English  The  Consti- 
of  Gouverneur  Morris,  was  completed  September  17,  1787, 
and  it  was  submitted  to  Congress  with  the  request  that 
that  body  transmit  the  draft  to  the  state  legislatures.  The 
Constitution  itself,  however,  provided  the  method  by  which 
it  was  to  receive  its  sanction,  which  was  that  it  be 
submitted  to  conventions  specially  called  in  the  several 
states,  and  go  into  effect  on  its  ratification  by  nine 
states.  This  would  give  the  Constitution  a  more  direct 
sanction  from  the  people  than  the  Articles  of  Confederation 
had  received,  which  had  been  simply  adopted  by  the  state 


40  THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION 

legislatures ;  it  would  give  the  federal  Constitution  in  fact 
precisely  the  same  sanction  that  the  state  constitutions  had 
received,  except  in  Massachusetts,  where  there  had  been  a 
popular  vote;  but  it  would  be  in  direct  violation  of  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  which  the  convention  had  been 
called  to  amend,  and  which  could  be  amended  only  by  the 
consent  of  the  legislature  of  every  state. 

Opposing  Congress,  however,  transmitted  the  draft,  September  28, 

1787,  to  the  state  legislatures  with  its  recommendation, 
and  thereupon  began  the  most  momentous  political  conflict 
ever  waged  in  this  country.  One  clause  of  the  Constitution 
forbade  the  states  to  issue  "bills  of  credit,"  and  this  brought 
against  it  all  the  paper-money  party.  It  was  opposed  by 
many  of  the  established  state  authorities,  partly  because 
it  would  diminish  the  importance  of  the  state  and  partly 
because  those  in  power  represented  those  favoring  weak 
government.  George  Clinton  and  Patrick  Henry  fought 
it  in  their  states,  and  they  were  aided  by  men  like  Gerry  and 
Martin,  who  attended  the  convention  but  refused  to  sign. 
They  characterized  it  as  a  "continental  exertion  of  the  well 
born  of  America,"  and  scented  danger  of  monarchy,  aris 
tocracy,  and  oppression. 

The  Federal-  The  advocates  of  adoption  were  in  the  awkward  position 
that  they  must  defend  every  provision.  It  was  easier  to 
compromise  the  interests  of  a  state  in  the  convention,  where 
all  states  and  interests  were  represented,  than  to  defend 
that  compromise  at  home,  where  people  saw  only  one  side 
of  the  question.  Men  returning  from  the  convention,  how 
ever,  had  the  advantage  of  thorough  familiarity  with  all 
arguments  pro  and  con,  and  they  kept  in  touch  with  one 
another  by  correspondence.  In  the  war  of  pamphlets  which 
followed,  the  most  efficacious  were  those  entitled  "  Federalist " 
and  written  by  Hamilton,  Madison,  and  Jay.  This  title  was 
adopted  by  the  party  of  the  Constitution,  and  so  they  forced 
their  opponents  to  assume  that  of  Anti-Federalists. 


ADOPTION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION  41 

The  Constitution  was,  on  the  whole,  favorable  to  the  small  Adoption  i 
states,  and  these  were  the  first  to  accept  it.  First,  Delaware; 
then  Pennsylvania,  which,  though  not  small,  was  by  its 
central  position  nationalistic;  then  New  Jersey,  Georgia,  and 
Connecticut.  In  Massachusetts  there  was  a  struggle,  but 
by  clever  management  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock 
were  prevented  from  coming  out  against  it,  and  on  Febru 
ary  6,  1788,  the  convention  accepted  it  by  a  vote  of  187 
to  167.  Maryland,  South  Carolina,  and  New  Hampshire 
followed,  each  after  a  hard  contest.  This  brought  the  number 
up  to  nine,  but  the  Constitution  could  hardly  have  gone  into 
effect  without  Virginia  and  New  York.  In  Virginia  Patrick 
Henry  led  the  opposition,  and  John  Marshall,  who  was  later 
to  do  so  much  toward  interpreting  the  Constitution,  was 
now  one  of  its  most  effective  supporters.  The  Federalists 
won,  but  it  was  with  the  understanding  that  they  would  do 
their  best  to  secure  certain  amendments.  In  New  York 
the  country  members  still  clung  to  the  duties  collected  on 
goods  imported  for  Connecticut  and  New  Jersey.  The  city 
merchants  thought  that  they  would  gain  trade  enough  under 
the  new  system  to  more  than  make  this  up,  and  even  pro 
posed  to  secede  from  the  state  and  join  the  new  union. 
Hamilton,  supporting  the  Constitution,  conducted  a  legislative 
fight  unequaled  in  American  history,  and  forced  it  through 
a  convention  two  thirds  of  whom  had  been  opposed  to  it. 

With  the  assent  of  these  eleven  states  the  Constitution 
was  assured  a  trial.  Congress,  on  September  13,  1788, 
voted  that  it  had  been  ratified,  that  elections  should  be  held 
for  the  officers  called  for  under  the  new  government,  and  that 
they  meet  in  New  York  on  the  first  Wednesday  of  March,  1 789. 
This  done,  the  old  Congress  practically  disappears  from 
history,  though  it  continued  to  meet  until  the  next  spring. 

North  Carolina  and  Rhode  Island  were  left  in  a  peculiar  North  Caro- 
position.    Their  associate   states  had  repudiated  the  Arti- 
cles,  and  they  themselves  had  agreed  to  no  substitute.     In 


42  THE   FORMATION  OF  THE   CONSTITUTION 

North  Carolina  the  influence  of  Patrick  Henry  was  strong, 
and  it  was  decided  to  stay  out  until  certain  amendments 
should  be  adopted.  As  Willie  Jones,  the  Anti-Federal 
ist  leader,  said:  "We  run  no  risk  of  being  excluded  from  the 
Amend-  union  when  we  think  proper  to  come  in.  Virginia,  our  next 
neighbor,  will  not  oppose  our  admission.  We  have  a  common 
cause  with  her.  She  wishes  the  same  alterations."  Five 
states,  in  fact,  when  ratifying  the  Constitution,  had  proposed 
amendments.  Many  of  these  had  to  do  with  details,  being 
devised  to  hedge  about  authority  with  limitations.  The 
most  important,  however,  were  to  supply  what  many  felt 
to  be  a  most  serious  omission,  that  is,  a  "bill  of  rights,"  such 
as  preceded  nearly  all  the  state  constitutions,  setting  forth 
those  rights  reserved  by  the  people,  and,  in  this  case,  by  the 
states  also,  to  themselves  inviolably  forever.  This  matter 
was  at  once  taken  up  by  the  new  Congress  when  it  met. 
On  September  25,  1789,  it  proposed  to  the  states,  for  their 
acceptance,  ten  amendments,  constituting  such  a  bill  of 
rights,  and  on  November  21  North  Carolina  ratified  the 
Constitution.  These  amendments  were  accepted  by  the 
states,  but  even  they  did  not  satisfy  Rhode  Island.  There 
the  paper-money  party  was  still  supreme,  and  the  legis 
lature  refused  even  to  call  a  convention,  in  spite  of  threats 
by  the  commercial  element  to  bring  about  the  secession  of 
Providence.  Congress  dealt  with  her  vigorously.  Mr. 
Maclay,  a  Pennsylvania  senator,  wrote  in  his  diary:  "They 
admitted  on  all  hands  that  Rhode  Island  was  independent, 
and  did  not  deny  that  the  measures  now  taken  were  meant 
to  force  her  into  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution."  These 
measures,  consisting  of  tariff  regulations,  were  successful, 
and  on  May  29,  1790,  Rhode  Island  ratified  the  Constitution, 
and  the  union  was  complete. 

Thus  was  launched  what  has  proved  to  be,  up  to  the 
present  time  at  least,  the  final  and  successful  attempt  at 
continental  organization ;  a  problem  which  for  one  hundred 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  43 

years  had  been  attracting  increasingly  the  best  minds,  first 
of  the  British  Empire  and  then  of  America ;  and  the  impor 
tance  of  which  merited,  while  the  success  of  the  solution 
justified,  the  attention  devoted  to  it.  The  frame  of  govern 
ment  of  no  independent  country,  with  the  exception  of  Siam, 
has  survived  from  1789  to  the  present  day  with  so  few  vital 
changes  as  has  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL    NOTES 

General  source  reading  is  probably  more  desirable  and  more   Sources, 
easily  possible  than  for  any  other  period.    The  letters  of  Wash 
ington  and  Madison,  Madison's  Papers,  Elliot's  Debates,  and  The 
Federalist  are  and  will  remain  the  best  reading  on  the  subject. 

Bancroft,  G.,  History  of  the  United  States,  VI,  207-370.    Beard,    General 
C.  A.,  An  Economic  Interpretation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  accounts- 
States.    Curtis,  G.  T.,  Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States,  I, 
chs.  XV-XXXII.     Farrand,  M.,  Framing  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.    Jameson,  J.  F.,  Studies  in  the  History  of  tJie  Federal 
Convention  of  1787  (Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,  Report,  1902,  vol.  I,  89-161), 
containing  a  bibliography.    McLaughlin,  A.  C.,  The  Confederation, 
221-277.    Story,  J.,  Commentaries,  1, 470, 627-643.    Thorpe,  F.  W., 
Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States,  ch.  V. 

Boutell,  L.  H.,  Roger  Sherman.    Brown,  W.  G.,  Oliver  Ellsworth.   Biographies. 
Gay,  S.  H.,  James  Madison.     Lodge,  H.  C.,  George  Washington. 
Morse,   J.  T.,   Alexander  Hamilton.     Roosevelt,  T.,  Gouvemeur 
Morris.    Rowland,  K.  M.,  George  Mason. 

Davis,  J.,  Confederate  Government,  86-103.  Harding,  S.  B.,  Adoption  of 
Ratification  of  the  Federal  Constitution  by  the  State  of  Massachusetts. 
Federalist  (edited  by  P.  L.  Ford),  632-651  (amendments  proposed 
by  the  states).  Henry,  W.  E.,  Patrick  Henry,  II,  chs.  XXXVI- 
XXXIX.  Jameson,  Essays  on  the  Constitutional  History  of  the 
United  States,  no.  2.  Libby,  O.  G.,  Geographical  Distribution  of 
the  Vote .  of  the  Thirteen  States.  McLaughlin,  The  Confederation, 
277-310.  McMaster,  United  States,  I,  454-502.  Roper,  C.  L., 
Why  North  Carolina  at  first  refolded  to  ratify  the  Federal  Constitution 
(Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,  Report,  1905,  vol.  I,  99-108).  Story,  J.,  Com 
mentaries,  308-372. 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  ORGANIZATION  AND   ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE 
NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT 


"  Conven 
tions  of  the 
Constitu 
tion." 


THE  national  Constitution,  as  compared  with  the  usual 
state  constitution  of  to-day,  was  brief.  It  but  sketched 
the  general  outlines  of  the  government,  and  left  the  filling 
in  to  those  who  should  be  elected  under  it.  It  was  fortunate, 
therefore,  that  the  first  election  brought  into  power  those 
who  had  favored  its  adoption  and  who  were  consequently 
most  interested  in  proving  it  a  success.  This  work  was 
done  with  as  much  care  as  the  framing  of  the  original  pro 
visions,  and  many  of  the  practices  and  customs  adopted  in 
the  first  few  years  have  come  to  have  a  force  almost  as  bind 
ing  as  that  of  the  Constitution  itself,  and  are  known  as  "  con 
ventions  of  the  Constitution." 

Congress  had  been  called  for  the  first  Wednesday  of 
March,  1789,  but  it  was  not  until  April  that  a  quorum  as 
sembled,  and  it  was  April  6  before  both  houses  were  organ 
ized.  Though  it  was  a  new  government  which  was  being 
founded,  the  majority  of  the  members  of  Congress  had  had 
legislative  experience.  They  were  familiar  with  English  parlia 
mentary  law,  the  ripe  product  of  centuries  of  development, 
and  they  were  accustomed  to  handling  public  affairs.  Their 
methods  they  took,  not  so  much  from  the  practices  of  the 
contemporary  British  Parliament,  though  these  were  often 
quoted,  as  from  those  of  the  colonial  and  state  legislatures 
and  the  Continental  Congress,  which  were  based  on  the  older 
practice  of  the  House  of  Commons  during  the  Stuart  period. 
Committees.  From  the  first  they  made  extensive  use  of  committees,  and 


Organization 
of  Congress. 


ORGANIZATION  OF   CONGRESS  45 

in  1794  began  the  development  of  a  system  of  appointing 
standing  committees,  to  hold  for  the  entire  life  of  each 
Congress,  and  each  to  attend  to  some  particular  class  of 
business.  Gradually  these  committees  became  more  impor 
tant,  until  more  work  was  done  in  the  committee  room 
than  in  the  regular  meetings  of  either  the  Senate  or  the 
House. 

The  presiding  officer  of  the  House  is  called  the  "  Speaker,"  The  Speaker, 
and  the  first  occupant  of  the  position  was  Frederick  A.  C. 
Muhlenberg,  who  had  held  a  similar  post  in  Pennsylvania. 
In  the  legislature  of  that  state  the  speaker  had  been  un 
usually^  j>owerful,  and  it  was  perhaps  as  a  result  of  Mr.  Muh- 
lenberg's  experience  that  the  House  voted,  January  18,  1790, 
that  committees  be  chosen  by  the  Speaker  "unless  other 
wise  specially  directed."  Later,  the  Speaker  was  allowed 
to  appoint  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  the  whole,  the 
speaker  pro  tempore,  and,  at  first  by  courtesy,  and  in  1804 
by  rule,  to  name  the  chairmen  of  all  committees.  In  the 
meanwhile,  the  rules  of  debate  were  developing  in  such  a 
way  as  to  increase  his  power.  In  1789  he  obtained  the  right 
to  decide  which  of  a  number  of  members  desiring  to  speak 
held  the  floor,  and  on  February  27,  1811,  the  practice  known 
as  the  "previous  question"  was  introduced,  which  gives  the 
Speaker,  working  with  a  majority  of  the  House,  power  to  limit 
debate.  Thus  there  was  a  tendency  from  the  first  for  the 
Speaker,  the  representative  of  the  majority,  to  control  the 
House,  and  he  became  in  time  the  second  most  powerful  officer 
of  the  government.1 

The  Senate   pursued   a  different  course.     Its  presiding  Vice  presi- 
officer  was  not  of  its  own  choice,  nor  even  a  member,  but  was 
the  Vice  President;  and  there  was  some  feeling  of  jealousy 

1  As  is  pointed  out  later  this  system  reached  its  extreme  development  under 
Speaker  Reed,  1889  to  1891,  and  Speaker  Cannon,  1903  to  1911.  In  the  latter 
year,  however,  the  Speaker  was  deprived  of  the  power  to  appoint  standing  com 
mittees,  and  was  required  to  give  the  floor  to  the  member  who  first  rises. 


46     ORGANIZATION  OF  THE   NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT 


Senate  versus 
House. 


Choice  of 
electors. 


President 
Washing 
ton. 


toward  him.  In  spite,  therefore,  of  the  efforts  of  John  Adams, 
the  first  Vice  President,  the  senators  kept  and  have  main 
tained  the  right  to  choose  their  committees  by  ballot,  and  the 
Vice  President  quickly  came  to  be  one  of  the  least  powerful  of 
national  officers. 

The  Senate  considered  itself  the  upper  house,  and  en 
deavored  to  have  this  claim  recognized  by  the  House  of 
Representatives,  particularly  to  secure  for  its  members  higher 
pay.  They  secured  one  dollar  a  day  additional  for  one  year, 
1795  to  1796.  The  political  weight  of  the  two  branches 
has  varied  with  the  ability  of  their  members. 

The  President  and  Vice  President  were  to  be  chosen  by 
electors,  each  state  having  as  many  as  it  had  senators  and 
representatives.  The  method  of  selecting  these  electors 
was  left  to  the  state  legislatures,  and  there  was  considerable 
diversity  in  the  ways  they  adopted.  In  the  first  election 
three  did  so  by  a  popular  vote  for  a  general  state  ticket, 
which  later  became  the  universal  practice;  two  chose  the 
several  electors  by  districts;  and  in  five  the  legislature 
elected  them,  a  custom  which  continued  in  many  states 
for  forty  years,  and  in  South  Carolina  until  the  Civil 
War.  In  1789  New  York  lost  its  vote  because  of  a  contest 
as  to  the  method  of  selection;  North  Carolina  and  Rhode 
Island  had  not  yet  joined  the  Union.  The  electors  cast  their 
votes  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  February,  and  while  they 
but  confirmed  popular  opinion  in  voting  unanimously  for 
Washington,  their  selection  of  John  Adams  as  Vice  President 
was  due  to  their  own  choice  from  among  several  available 
candidates. 

The  choice  of  Washington  as  commander  in  chief  of  the 
Continental  Army,  in  1775,  was  due  in  large  measure  to  the 
fact  that  he  came  from  Virginia,  the  largest  colony,  and  one 
whose  cooperation  was  essential  for  the  war.  His  choice 
as  President,  in  1789,  was  due  to  universal  appreciation  of 
his  character.  The  Revolution  had  tested  not  only  his 


THE  PRESIDENCY  47 

generalship  but  also  his  executive  capacity.  He  had  practi 
cally  been  the  continental  executive  through  that  dark  period*, 
maintaining  national  harmony  and  cooperation,  not  by 
authority,  but  by  influence.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  not 
only  himself  resigned  from  office,  but  he  persuaded  the 
military  forces  to  subordinate  themselves  to  Congress,  al 
though  they  were  smarting  under  injustice,  and  Congress 
was  so  weak  that  many  believed  it  could  be  brought  to 
terms  at  the  bayonet's  point.  During  the  Confederation 
he  had,  as  a  private  citizen,  devoted  himself  to  national 
undertakings,  and  all  who  had  attended  the  constitutional 
convention  recognized  how  great  his  influence  had  been  in 
framing  the  Constitution  and  securing  its  adoption.  Al 
though  he  was  not  the  peer  of  Franklin  in  intellectual  ability, 
he  had  an  active  and  original  mind,  but  his  distinguishing 
characteristic  was  the  soundness  of  his  judgment.  He 
listened  patiently  to  advice;  he  balanced  it  with  his  own  ideas, 
and,  in  a  greater  proportion  of  instances  than  any  other 
American  statesman,  he  decided  upon  the  course  which  the 
future  proved  to  be  the  right  one.  He  decided,  moreover, 
in  time;  the  crisis  never  passed  while  he  hesitated.  His 
judgment  of  men  was  as  good  as  of  policies,  and  he  judged 
them  for  character  as  well  as  for  ability.  His  own  character 
was  such  as  to  give  his  judgments  the  weight  that  they  de 
served.  Seemingly  somewhat  cold,  and  with  a  decided 
dignity  of  demeanor,  he  had,  nevertheless,  a  restless  and  im 
pulsive  spirit.  His  calm  was  that  of  self-restraint,  and  meant 
force  and  not  inertia.  His  sense  of  honesty  was  acute,  and 
he  had  in  the  highest  degree  the  feeling  of  honor  and  of  pub 
lic  duty  which  were  the  best  characteristics  of  the  Virginia 
planter  aristocracy  to  which  he  belonged. 

Such  was  the  man  who,  on  April  30,  after  a  triumphal  The 
journey  from  Mount  Vernon,  was  inaugurated  at  New  York.   F 
Some  members  of  Congress  wished  to  give  him  a  sounding 
title  calculated  to  inspire  respect  abroad  and  awe  at  home. 


48      ORGANIZATION  OF  THE   NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT 


Executive 
versus  legisla 
ture. 


The 
cabinet. 


John  Adams  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  cricket  clubs 
had  presidents.  Nothing  was  agreed  upon,  however,  and 
it  proved  that  no  title  was  needed  to  dignify  an  officer  exer 
cising  such  powers  as  the  Constitution  conferred  upon  him, 
especially  when  Washington  occupied  the  office.  Congress 
gave  him  a  salary  of  $25,000,  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  sup 
port  an  ample  establishment;  and  Hamilton  drew  up  a  set 
of  rules  for  social  conduct,  which  protected  him  from  in 
trusion  and  yet  satisfied  the  demands  of  hospitality. 

In  his  relations  with  Congress  Washington  was  disposed 
to  assert  his  authority  to  the  full.  On  April  5,  1792,  he  sent 
in  the  first  veto,  and  on  March  30,  1796,  he  refused  the 
request  of  the  House  to  send  to  it  certain  executive  papers 
that  he  thought  should  be  kept  secret.  These  points  he 
successfully  maintained,  but  his  attempt  to  take  part  per 
sonally  when  the  Senate  was  giving  its  " advice  and  consent" 
to  appointments  and  treaties  was  defeated,  and  the  prec 
edent  finally  became  established  that  all  communication  be 
tween  the  executive  and  the  legislature  be  in  writing.  The 
President  received  compensation,  however,  in  the  decision 
of  Congress  that  he  should  possess  the  full  power  of  removing 
officials  from  office,  although  the  Constitution  might  be  in 
terpreted  to  give  the  Senate  the  same  right  to  advise  and 
consent  to  their  removal  that  it  had  in  the  case  of  their 
appointment.  On  the  whole  the  executive  and  legislature 
proved,  as  the  convention  had  intended,  each  to  have  suffi 
cient  power  to  maintain  its  independence,  but  not  enough 
to  control  the  other.  Still,  force  of  character  or  popular 
support  has,  from  time  to  time,  given  now  the  one,  now 
the  other,  the  greater  power. 

One  of  the  first  duties  of  Congress  was  to  provide  for 
the  more  extensive  organization  of  the  executive.  Three  de 
partments — " Foreign  affairs"  (soon  changed  to  "State"), 
11  Treasury,"  and  "War" — were  at  once  established,  each 
headed  by  a  secretary.  Independent  of  these  secretaries 


THE  PRESIDENCY  49 

were  an  Attorney-General  to  manage  the  legal  business  of 
the  government,  and  a  Post  master- General  to  take  charge 
of  the  post  offices  and  post  routes.  The  treasury  depart 
ment  was  modeled  with  peculiar  care  on  a  system  largely 
the  work  of  Robert  Morris;  several  auditors,  comptrollers, 
and  registers  mutually  checked  one  another  in  such  a  way  as 
to  render  misappropriation  of  funds  practically  impossible. 
The  Constitution  gave  the  President  power  to  require  the 
"  Opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the 
executive  Departments,  upon  any  subject  relating  to  the 
Duties  of  their  respective  Offices."  Washington  from  the  first 
followed  the  practice  of  asking  the  advice  of  all  the  secre 
taries  upon  matters  of  general  interest,  and  soon  oral  con 
sultations  followed.  In  these  conferences  the  Attorney- 
General  took  part,  but  not  the  Postmaster- General,  as  his 
office  was  regarded  as  purely  administrative.  Washington 
showed  a  disposition  to  include  the  Chief  Justice,  John 
Jay,  and  the  Vice  President,  John  Adams,  among  his  inti 
mate  advisers ;  but  Jay  refused  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
improper  for  him  to  express  his  views  on  matters  upon 
which  he  might  subsequently  be  obliged  to  give  a  judicial 
opinion,  and  Adams,  although  he  sometimes  wrote  an  opinion, 
did  not  -become  a  regular  member  of  the  group,  perhaps 
fearing  to  compromise  the  dignity  of  his  position  by  putting 
himself  on  a  level  with  the  heads  of  departments.  By  the  end 
of  the  first  administration  these  meetings,  although  not  pro 
vided  for  in  the  Constitution,  had  come  to  constitute  an 
organization,  to  which  the  name  "  Cabinet "  was  applied. 
As  its  members  served  at  the  pleasure  of  the  President  and 
were  consequently  under  his  control,  Congress  resisted  the 
attempt  to  allow  them  to  appear  in  person  before  it,  and  so 
the  cabinet  in  this  country  has  always  had  less  influence  on 
the  course  of  legislation  than  the  cabinet  in  England. 

To  the  making  of  appointments  to  fill  these  and  the  nu-  Appoint- 
merous  subordinate  positions  created  by  Congress,  Washing- 


50      ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT 

ton  devoted  the  utmost  care,  for  he  knew  that  the  quality  of 
the  personnel  was  vital  to  the  success  of  the  Constitution.  He 
appointed  no  one  whom  he  did  not  consider  well  fitted  for  the 
duties  of  the  office.  In  addition  he  sought  men  of  prominence 
who  would  bring  prestige  to  the  new  government.  He  tried 
to  avoid  sectional  and  state  jealousies,  by  apportioning  the 
offices  as  equally  as  possible  among  the  states  and  sections. 
Where  he  could,  he  tried  to  retain  men  in  positions  similar 
to  those  which  they  had  occupied  under  the  Confederation, 
or  under  the  state  governments  where  state  services,  like 
that  of  the  customs,  had  been  transferred  to  the  Union. 
He  refused,  however,  to  appoint  men  notably  opposed  to 
the  Constitution,  even  when  they  had  held  such  positions. 
Particularly  was  this  true  in  Rhode  Island  and  North  Carolina, 
where  opposition  had  been  keenest.  For  his  cabinet,  he 
secured  Thomas  Jefferson  for  Secretary  of  State,  Alexander 
Hamilton  for  the  Treasury,  and  Edmund  Randolph  for 
Attorney-General,  while  Henry  Knox  continued  to  serve  as 
Secretary  of  War. 

The  With  regard  to  the   organization  of   the   judiciary,  the 

Constitution  merely  provided  that  there  be  a  Supreme  Court 
and  such  inferior  courts  as  Congress  might  establish.  Con 
gress  at  once  went  to  work  upon  the  matter,  and  an  act  was 
drawn  up,  largely  the  work  of  Oliver  Ellsworth  of  Connecti 
cut,  which  was  passed  September  24,  1789.  The  Supreme 
Court  was  to  consist  of  a  chief  justice  and  five  associate 
justices.  In  each  state,  and  also  in  Maine  and  Kentucky, 
which  were  not  yet  states,  there  was  to  be  a  district  court, 
with  a  judge,  an  attorney,  and  a  marshal.  Intermediate 
circuit  courts  were  provided  by  having  two  justices  of  the 
Supreme  Court  sit  with  the  judge  of  the  district.  Wash 
ington  put  forth  redoubled  efforts  to  supply  the  framework 
with  men  who  would  inspire  public  confidence.  John  Jay 
was  made  Chief  Justice,  and  for  the  other  positions  many 
distinguished  judges  were  drawn  from  the  benches  of  the 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES  51 

states.  Still,  the  national  courts  did  not  have  much  business 
at  first,  as  the  custom  of  appealing  or  transferring  cases  from 
state  courts  did  not  develop  for  some  time.  One  of  the 
Supreme  Court  decisions,  that  of  Chisholm  v.  Georgia,  in  1793, 
was  to  the  effect  that  a  state  might  be  sued  by  a  citizen 
of  another  state.  The  supporters  of  state  sovereignty  were 
so  seriously  alarmed  at  this,  it  being  a  principle  of  English 
law  that  the  sovereign  cannot  be  sued,  that  the  Eleventh 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  definitely  pro 
hibiting  a  suit  by  an  individual  against  a  state.  Gradually, 
however,  the  judiciary  acquired  respect,  and,  as  cases  arose, 
it  blocked  out  some  of  the  constitutional  interpretations 
which  later  formed  the  basis  of  its  power.  It  did  not,  during 
the  Federalist  period,  declare  any  act  of  Congress  uncon 
stitutional,  but  in  the  case  of  Hylton  v.  the  United  States 
it  discussed  the  constitutionality  of  such  an  act;  while  in 
Ware  v.  Hylton  it  declared  a  state  law  of  Virginia  void  be 
cause  in  conflict  with  a  treaty. 

While  the  new  government  was  thus  working  out  its  The  first 
internal  organization,  it  was  devoting  serious  attention  to  * 
the  solution  of  those  problems,  the  failure  to  solve  which 
had  wrecked  the  Confederation..  First  came  that  of  revenue.. 
Already  on  March  25,  1789,  Fisher  Ames  was  complaining 
that  every  day's  delay  in  framing  a  tariff  bill  meant  the  loss 
of  a  thousand  pounds,  and  under  the  pressure  of  financial 
necessity  the  first  tariff  bill  was  rushed  through  and  passed 
July  4.  It  was  entitled  "An  act  for  the  encouragement  and 
protection  of  manufactures,"  but  was  a  haphazard  affair 
in  no  true  sense  protective.  The  schedule  of  duties  estab 
lished  was  much  lower  than  has  ever  been  known  since,  the 
highest  being  fifteen  per  cent.  The  discussion  was  not  politi 
cal  in  the  sense  of  dividing  Congress  into  two  parties,  favor 
ing  high  and  low  tariff,  or  any  two  opposing  policies.  It 
was,  however,  interesting  in  bringing  out  conflicting  interests, 
as  those  between  the  Virginia  producer  of  slaves  and  the 


52      ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT 


Financial 
conditions. 


The  excise. 


Funding  the 
debt. 


Georgia  consumer,  and  between  the  farming,  agricultural, 
and  commercial  sections.  New  England  manufacturers  of 
rum  objected  to  duties  on  molasses,  the  raw  material.  Fisher 
Ames  wrote,  "Another  molasses  battle  has  been  fought." 
The  question  of  the  tariff  was  on  the  whole  treated  as  one  of 
administration  and  of  local  interests  rather  than  as  involving 
a  conflict  of  principles. 

The  tariff  provided  a  revenue  unexpectedly  great,  but  the 
financial  problem  was  still  a  delicate  one.  The  amount 
appropriated  during  the  first  session  for  running  expenses 
was  only  $629,000.  This  figure  did  not  include  salaries  for 
customs,  consular,  and  post-office  officials,  as  they  were 
remunerated  by  fees.  The  largest  item  of  expense  was 
for  interest.  The  foreign  debt  now  amounted  to  $11,710,378, 
and  it  was  expected  that  something  would  be  done  for  the 
domestic  debt,  of  which  the  face  value  was  $42,414,085.  Ham 
ilton,  the  new  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  speedily  conceived  a 
vast  scheme  for  solving  these  difficulties  and  at  the  same  time 
building  new  foundations  of  political  strength  for  the  govern 
ment.  This  plan  he  presented  to  Congress  in  a  series  of  reports. 

He  first  turned  his  attention  to  the  revenue,  and  advised 
Congress  to  raise  the  tariff  slightly  in  accordance  with  the 
principle  of  protection.  Then  he  recommended  the  passage 
of  an  excise  tax  on  distilled  spirits,  not  a  very  productive 
measure,  but  one  creating  a  new  staff  of  officials  and  increas 
ing  the  prestige  of  the  government. 

These  measures  passed  easily  enough,  but  the  next  step 
brought  a  significant  break  between  Hamilton  and  Madison, 
who  was  now  serving  as  member  of  the  House.  Hamilton 
wished  to  fund  the  national  domestic  debt,  giving  the  holders 
of  the  various  forms  of  indebtedness  a  new  uniform  security  of 
the  same  face  value  as  that  which  they  had  held,  and  bearing  a 
uniform  rate  of  interest.  Madison  pointed  out  that  much  of 
the  indebtedness  was  in  the  hands  of  speculators,  many  of 
whom  had  paid  for  it  but  fifteen  cents  on  the  dollar  and  who  did 


FINANCIAL  MEASURES  53 

not  deserve  to  receive  full  face  value^  Congress  supported 
Hamilton,  the  debt  was  funded,  and  the  interest  paid.  The 
financial  element,  seeing  that  the  new  government  desired  and 
was  able  to  meet  its  obligations,  were  soon  willing  to  lend 
money  at  a  lower  rate,  and  the  credit  of  the  United  States  was 
speedily  established. 

Hamilton's  next  step  was  to  extend  the  newly  created  The  assump- 
national  credit  to  the  assistance  of  the  states,  by  assuming  state  debts, 
such  portion  of  their  debts  as  had  been  incurred  in  support 
of  the  Revolution.  He  had  in  mind  not  only  finance,  but 
also  politics,  for  he  believed  that  the  firmest  support  the 
national  establishment  could  have  would  be  a  large  body 
of  moneyed  men  looking  to  it  for  interest  on  their  bonds.  If 
he  could  transfer  this  great  mass  of  debt  from  the  states  to 
the  Union,  he  would  weaken  the  former  and  add  a  bulwark 
to  the  latter.  His  plan  was  opposed  by  those  who  feared 
just  this  centralization,  and  by  members  from  states  which  had 
small  debts  or  none  at  all,  The  balance  hung  so  close  that 
both  parties  feared  to  bring  it  to  the  touch*  In  the  meantime 
Congress  was  agitated  by  the  rival  claims  of  the  Delaware, 
the  Susquehanna,  and  the  Potomac  for  the  location  of  the 
federal  district  provided  for  by  the  Constitution  as  the  site 
of  the  federal  capital.  This,  too,  hung  in  the  balance.  One 
session  of  Congress  passed  without  action,  the  next  brought 
in  North  Carolina,  which  was  for  the  Potomac  and  against 
assumption,  and  Rhode  Island,  which  was  for  assumption  and 
against  the  Potomac.  Innumerable  attempts  were  made  to 
bring  about  a  bargain  between  the  conflicting  interests  by 
combining  the  two  questions.  At  length,  at  a  little  dinner 
given  by  Jefferson,  who  had  just  arrived  from  France  to  be 
Secretary  of  State,  the  matter  was  adjusted.  State  debts  were 
assumed  to  the  amount  of  $21,500,000,  and  the  federal  district 
was  located  on  the  Potomac.  Those  interested  in  the  Dela 
ware  were  conciliated  by  making  Philadelphia  the  seat  of  gov 
ernment  for  ten  years,  while  the  new  city  was  being  prepared. 


54      ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT 

The  national  The  crown  of  Hamilton's  plan  was  the  creation  of  a  na 
tional  bank.  It  would  facilitate  the  business  of  the  govern 
ment;  it  would  strengthen  the  connection  between  the  moneyed 
classes  and  the  Union,  and  it  could  be  made  the  means  of 
establishing  a  stable  national  bank-note  currency,  —  for  which 
there  was  a  real  need.  Growing  business,  moreover,  needed 
banking  facilities,  for  there  were  but  three  banks  in  the 
United  States,  one  at  each  of  the  centers  of  capital:  Boston, 
New  York,  and  Philadelphia.  The  bank  bill  passed  Congress 
practically  as  Hamilton  drew  it.  It  established  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States,  with  $10,000,000  capital,  four  fifths  to 
be  invested  in  United  States  securities.  It  was  to  be  under 
private  management,  but  the  government  was  to  own  one 
fifth  of  the  stock.  It  could  establish  branches  in  the  states, 
and  could  issue  notes  on  the  security  of  its  capital.  It  had 
the  privilege  and  duty  of  handling  the  financial  business  of 
the  government  and  was  bound  to  report  its  condition  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  if  he  asked  it,  as  often  as  once 
a  week.  The  charter  ran  for  twenty  years. 

Strict  versus  When,  in  February,  1791,  the  bank  bill  was  presented  to 
struction?"  Washington  for  his  signature,  he  asked  the  members  of  the 
cabinet  for  their  opinions  as  to  its  constitutionality,  that 
point  having  been  raised  in  Congress.  Jefferson,  who  already 
had  begun  to  fear  the  consequences  of  the  centralizing  policy, 
and  to  regret  the  part  he  had  taken  in  aiding  the  assumption  of 
state  debts,  wrote  an  elaborate  opinion  against  it.  He  could 
find  no  authorization  "among  the  powers  specially  enumer 
ated,"  nor  "  within  either  of  the  general  phrases  which  are  the 
two  following : '  to  lay  taxes  for  the  purpose  of  providing  for  the 
general  welfare,'  and '  to  make  all  laws  necessary  and  proper  for 
carrying  into  execution  the  enumerated  powers.'  "  "To  take  a 
single  step  beyond  the  boundaries  thus  specially  drawn  around 
the  powers  of  Congress  is  to  take  possession  of  a  boundless 
field  of  power,  no  longer  susceptible  of  any  definition."  Ham 
ilton  at  length,  and  with  wonderful  acumen,  argued  that  from 


HAMILTON  55 

the  powers  granted  to  the  Union  other  powers  could  be  im 
plied,  that  the  Union  was  sovereign  with  respect  to  those 
powers  granted  to  it,  and  that,  in  carrying  them  out,  it  could 
use  any  means  that  were  " proper."  He  was  firmly  per 
suaded  that  if  Jefferson's  strict  view  prevailed  it  would 
be  "  fatal  to  the  just  and  indispensable  authority  of  the 
United  States."  Washington  signed  the  bill,  and  the  ad 
ministration  was  committed  to  a  policy  of  broad  construc 
tion. 

These  financial  measures,  upon  which  the  success  of  the  Hamilton, 
new  establishment  depended,  were  to  an  unusual  degree  the 
work  of  one  man,  Alexander  Hamilton.  Born  in  the  West 
Indies,  of  a  Scotch  father  and  a  French  mother,  he  combined 
most  happily  the  business  sagacity  of  the  one  nationality  with 
the  vivacity  and  charm  of  the  other.  He  came  to  New  York 
just  before  the  Revolution,  and  his  precocity  brought  him, 
while  still  a  boy  in  years,  to  the  notice  of  the  leading  men 
of  the  time.  He  served  on  Washington's  staff,  and  he  mar 
ried  a  daughter  of  General  Philip  Schuyler,  head  of  an  old 
New  York  family  of  great  political  and  social  weight.  Com 
bining  law  and  politics  in  the  manner  becoming  common  in 
America,  he  had  by  1789  attained  a  position  of  such  prom 
inence  that  his  appointment  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
although  he  was  only  thirty-two,  was  received  with  con 
fidence.  His  success  in  this  position  was  due  not  only  to 
the  wisdom  of  his  proposals,  but  also  to  his  ability  in  secur 
ing  their  adoption  by  Congress.  His  dominating  personality 
soon  converted  the  supporters  of  his  measures  into  followers, 
and  from  about  1792  until  his  death  in  1804  a  great  pro 
portion  of  the  strongest  men  in  the  country  looked  upon  him 
as  the  surest  support  of  rational  government  and  held  him 
in  almost  reverential  affection.  His  qualities,  however,  were 
not  such  as  to  appeal  to  the  mass  of  people  who  did  not  come 
into  personal  contact  with  him,  and  his  West  Indian  training 
led  him  to  place  a  reliance  in  the  financial  element  as  the 


56      ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  NATIONAL   GOVERNMENT 

touchstone  of  political  strength  which  was  unwarranted  in 

the  United  States. 

Hamilton  An    opposition    to    Hamilton's    party    soon    developed, 

and  Jefferson.  centering  itsejf  about  Jefferson,  the  Secretary  of  State,  and 

Washington  saw  the  fading  of  his  dream  of  governing  with 
out  parties,  even  before  he  had  completed  his  first  term. 
Nor  was  the  Constitution  at  fault.  The  difference  between 
Hamilton  and  Jefferson  was  more  fundamental;  they  rep 
resented  two  eternally  opposed  types  of  mind.  Hamilton's 
ideal  was  a  strong  government  actively  assisting  in  the  prog 
ress  of  the  nation;  Jefferson  wished  to  see  a  government 
preserving  order,  but  leaving  to  every  individual  the  largest 
possible  amount  of  freedom  for  personal  development.  They 
both  read  in  the  Constitution  the  expression  of  their  views 
and  so  could  cooperate  in  its  support,  while  differing  as  to 
particular  measures.  This  difference  grew  broader  with 
almost  every  policy  broached,  and  although  Washington 
tried  to  stand  between  them,  his  judgment  was  so  often 
with  Hamilton  that  on  December  31,  1793,  Jefferson  left  the 
cabinet  and  became  the  head  of  a  new  party,  professing 
especially  loyalty  to  the  Constitution  strictly  construed, 
and  adopting  the  name  Republican. 

The  Whisky  The  establishment  of  the  financial  system  met  with  other 
Rebellion.  opposition  more  violent  but  less  important.  In  the  moun 
tain  valleys  of  the  frontier,  the  lack  of  transportation  facili 
ties  compelled  the  farmer  to  transmute  corn  and  wheat  into 
commodities  more  easily  handled.  In  later  times  much 
was  fed  to  cattle,  which  were  then  driven  to  the  coast,  but 
even  this  was  almost  impossible  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
In  the  distillation  of  whisky  most  farmers  found  their  es 
cape  from  this  dilemma.  Whisky  served  as  the  currency 
of  much  of  the  mountain  region,  and  upon  its  sale  the  in 
habitants  depended  largely  for  what  they  had  to  buy  from 
other  sections.  Upon  them,  therefore,  the  new  excise  tax 
fell  with  an  especial  rigor.  Unaccustomed  to  oppression, 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  57 

they  resisted  at  first  by  concealing  their  distilleries,  and  then, 
when  United  States  officers  attempted  to  enforce  the  law, 
by  arms.  In  1794  western  Pennsylvania  and  neighboring 
regions  of  Virginia  broke  into  revolt.  Liberty  poles  were 
raised,  and  the  " whisky  boys"  rifled  the  mails  and  captured 
Pittsburgh. 

This  was  a  situation  demanding  the  utmost  tact.  Other 
portions  of  the  mountain  region  were  apt  to  join  the  in 
surgents,  and  the  Republicans,  while  disapproving  their 
violence,  sympathized  with  them  in  their  opposition  to  the 
tax.  Washington's  handling  of  this  delicate  situation  was 
perfect.  He  assembled  an  army  overwhelmingly  large, 
which  marched  with  much  pomp  and  circumstance,  but 
slowly,  towards  the  disaffected  district.  This  gave  the  in 
surgents  time  to  deliberate,  and  by  the  time  the  army  reached 
Pittsburgh  moderate  leaders  among  them  had  gained  the 
upper  hand,  and  all  organized  forces  had  disappeared,  with 
out  battle  and  without  bloodshed.  Some  of  the  leaders 
were  arrested,  but  they  were  treated  with  leniency,  and 
Congress  met  some  of  the  popular  demands  by  rendering 
the  enforcement  of  the  law  less  onerous.  The  tax,  however, 
was  retained,  and  the  government  had  shown  its  ability  to 
cope  with  armed  resistance. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES 

Of  general  importance  are  the  Writings  of  Washington  and  Sources. 
Works  of  Hamilton,  the  Annals  of  Congress,  or  T.  H.  Benton's 
Abridgment  of  the  Debates  of  Congress,  giving  the  debates  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  Sketches  of  Debate  by  William 
Maclay,  giving  those  in  the  Senate  with  many  lively  bits  of  local 
color.  Callender,  G.  S.,  Selections  from  Economic  History  of  the 
United  States,  221-231,  gives  material  of  the  financial  system 
adopted.  The  following  discuss  the  bank  question:  Hamilton, 
A.,  Works  (edited  by  J.  C.  Hamilton),  IV,  104-138;  (edited  by 
H.  C.  Lodge),  II,  47-108,  294-348;  III,  180-227.  Jefferson,  T., 
Writings  (edited  by  H.  A.  Washington),  VII,  555-561 ;  (edited 


58      ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  NATIONAL  GOVERNMENT 


Historical 
accounts. 
Organization 
of  the  legisla 
ture. 


The  execu 
tive. 


The  judici 
ary. 


The  financial 
system. 


The  frontier. 


by  P.  L.  Ford),  V,  284-289;  VI,  470-494.  McCulloch  v.  Md., 
in  United  States  Reports,  4  Wheaton,  316;  Thayer,  I.  B.,  Cases, 
271-284. 

Follett,  M.  P.,  Speaker  of  the  House,  chs.  I,  XI.  Jameson,  J.  F., 
Origin  of  the  Standing  Committee  System  in  American  Legislative 
Bodies  (Political  Science  Quarterly,  IX,  no.  2).  Lodge,  H.  C.,  The 
Senate  (Scribner's  Magazine,  vol.  34,  541-550).  Lowell,  A.  L., 
Essays  on  Government,  no.  i.  McCall,  W.  S.,  The  Power  of  the 
Senate  (Atlantic  Monthly,  vol.  92,  433-442).  McConachie,  L.  G., 
Congressional  Committees.  McMaster,  United  States,  I,  525-568. 
Morse,  J.  T.,  John  Adams,  ch.  X.  Wilson,  W.,  Congressional 
Government,  chs.  II,  IV. 

Fish,  C.  R.,  Civil  Service  and  the  Patronage,  ch.  I.  Jameson, 
Essays,  no.  3.  Hinsdale,  M.  L.,  The  Colonies  and  Congress  (Am. 
Pol.  Sci.  Assoc.,  Proceedings,  1905),  126-149.  Learned,  H.  B., 
The  President's  Cabinet.  Lodge,  H.  C.,  Washington,  40-81. 
McMaster,  United  States,  II,  267-275.  Mason,  E.  C.,  The  Veto 
Power,  chs.  Ill,  VI.  Salmon,  L.  P.,  History  of  the  Appointing 
Power,  1-32.  Stanwood,  E.,  History  of  the  Presidency,  chs.  I-IV. 

Baldwin,  S.  E.,  The  American  System  of  Supreme  Courts  (Inter 
national,  vol.  IV,  540-557).  Brown,  W.  G.,  Oliver  Ellsworth,  180- 
200.  Jameson,  Essays,  no.  i.  McLaughlin,  A.  C.,  The  Courts, 
the  Constitution,  and  Parties,  pages  4  and  5  giving  a  select  bibliog 
raphy  of  recent  literature  on  the  subject.  Pellew,  G.,  J.  Jay. 
Willoughby,  Supreme  Court  (Johns  Hopkins  Historical  Studies, 
extra  vol.  VII). 

Bassett,  J.  S.,  The  Federalist  System,  27-42.  Curtis,  Constitu 
tional  History,  II,  182-190,  589-600.  Dewey,  D.  R.,  Financial 
History  of  the  United  States.  Lodge,  H.  C.,  Hamilton,  chs.  V,  VI. 
Macdonald,  W.,  Select  Documents,  nos.  6,  8-12.  Taussig,  F.  W., 
Tariff  History,  8-17. 

Adams,  H.,  Gallatin,  86-151.  Bassett,  Federalist  System,  101- 
117.  McMaster,  United  States,  I,  593-604;  II,  42-47,  67-72, 
189-206. 


CHAPTER  V 
PROBLEMS   OF   THE   FRONTIER   AND   OF   COMMERCE 

EVEN  while  occupied  with  these  fundamental  tasks  of 
organization  and  finance,  the  government  could  not  neglect 
the  problems  of  the  West  and  of  commerce.  Failure  to  solve 
them  had  been  one  of  the  charges  against  the  government 
of  the  Confederation,  and  continued  failure  would  be  fatal 
to  that  under  the  Constitution. 

Some  satisfaction  was  given  the  western  settlers  by  the  The  West, 
admission  of  Vermont  in  1791,  of  Kentucky  in  1792,  and  of  Land. 
Tennessee  in  1796,  as  states  on  an  equality  with  the  original 
thirteen.  In  1799  the  Northwest  Territory  passed  into  the 
second  stage  of  development  provided  for  by  the  Ordinance 
of  1787,  which  called  for  the  organization  of  a  legislature 
and  the  election  of  a  delegate  to  Congress,  who  could  speak 
but  could  not  vote.  In  general,  the  western  representatives 
counted  for  little  in  Congress,  where  their  roughness  and  lack 
of  oratorical  ability  caused  them  to  be  underrated.  One 
exception  was  William  Henry  Harrison,  the  Northwestern 
delegate,  who  in  1800  secured  a  modification  of  the  system 
of  land  sales,  which  had  long  been  regarded  as  unsatisfactory, 
but  which  had  not  been  changed,  owing  to  conflicting  views. 
By  the  new  act,  as  little  as  320  acres  could  be  purchased, 
and  credit  was  allowed  for  part  of  the  purchase  price. 
Thus  for  $160  a  year  for  four  years  the  settler  could 
secure  a  title,  an  arrangement  which  was  decidedly  more 
advantageous  to  the  actual  pioneer  than  the  legislation 
of  1785. 

59 


6o 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  FRONTIER 


Transporta 
tion. 


Indian 
policy. 


To  the  solution  of  the  vital  problem  of  transportation  the 
new  government  contributed  nothing  except  the  opening  of 
the  Mississippi  River  in  1795,  and  this  contribution  was  re 
garded  with  disfavor  by  many  who  feared  that  it  would 
result  in  drawing  western  trade  into  independent  channels, 
and  so  wean  the  affections  of  the  people  from  the  Union.- 
The  failure  to  improve  and  develop  the  routes  over  the 
mountains  was  certainly  not  due  to  oversight,  for  no  one 
understood  the  problem,  either  politically  or  physically,  better 
than  Washington,  who  had  given  much  time  during  the  Con 
federation  to  the  attempt  being  made  in  Virginia  to  connect 
the  Potomac  and  the  James  with  tributaries  of  the  Ohio. 
Nor  is  it  likely  that  it  was  due  to  hesitation  as  to  the  power 
of  Congress,  considering  the  views  of  Hamilton  and  his  as 
sociates.  It  is  more  probable  that  it  was  due  in  part  to 
lack  of  resources,  and  in  part  to  the  absorbing  character  of 
the  problems  pressing  for  immediate  attention.  While  the 
nationaT'government  did  not  act,  some  states  were  working 
at  the  subject,  and  some  improvement  was  made  by  indi 
viduals  and  by  corporations  acting  under  state  charters, 
which  built  tolljroads  in  Pennsylvania  and  made  possible  a 
heavy  wagon  traffic  between  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburgh. 

The  Indian  question  was  dealt  with  more  promptly  and 
effectively.  In  1790  an  act  was  passed  providing  that  all 
land  sales  from  the  Indians  must  be  made  by  public  treaty 
with  the  United  States,  and  that  Indian  trade  be  restricted 
to  licensed  traders,  in  order  to  prevent  the  friction  resulting 
from  the  presence  of  irresponsible  white  men  among  them. 
In  1796  the  government  itself  went  into  the  business  of 
trading  with  them  in  order  to  meet  the  competition  of  Span 
iards  and  English,  and  to  bind  the  Indians  to  the  United 
States.  None  of  these  measures  except  the  first  were  com 
pletely  successful,  but  they  all  tended  to  improve  conditions. 
In  addition  to  this  general  legislation  negotiations  were 
carried  on  with  the  several  tribes  to  secure  peace,  territorial 


INCREASE  OF  TRADE  6 1 

concessions,  and  definite  boundaries.  In  1790  McGillivray, 
the  Creek  chief,  was  invited  to  New  York  and  flattered  and 
bribed  into  promising  to  keep  the  peace,  a  promise  partly 
fulfilled.  Yet  the  greater  part  of  Georgia  remained  in  the 
hands  of  this  and  other  tribes.  The  Iroquois  of  New  York, 
weakened  by  the  Revolution,  were  friendly ;  but  the  Indians 
of  the  Northwest  continued  warlike,  instigated,  so  the 
frontiersmen  believed,  and  probably  at  least  not  strongly 
discouraged,  by  the  English.  In  1790  General  Harmar 
was  sent  against  them  and  was  defeated;  in  1791  St.  Clair, 
governor  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  went  against  them, 
and  his  army  was  almost  annihilated.  In  1794,  however, 
General  Wayne  won  a  victory  at  Fallen  Timbers,  near  what 
is  now  Toledo,  Ohio;  wasted  the  Inolian  villages  and  fields, 
and  tn  1795  made  with  them  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  which 
secured  comparative  peace  for  fifteen  years.  With  peace, 
settlement  in  the  Northwest  began  to  increase  rapidly,  and 
the  population  grew  from  about  4000  in  1790  to  51,000  in 
1800.  In  the  Southwest,  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  whose 
Indian  difficulties  were  less  important  or  earlier  composed, 
increased  from  109,000  to  326,000. 

The  commercial  community  of  the  East  felt  the  advan-  increase  of 
tages  of  the  new  government  sooner  than  the  West.  The  Domestic, 
establishment  of  the  Constitution  was  coincident  with  a 
natural  revival  of  trade,  and  stimulated  it  by  giving  stability 
to  credit  and  by  putting  a  stop  to  tariff  wars  between  the 
states.  Before  the  Revolution,  trade  between  the  several 
colonies  had  been  almost  prevented  by  the  restrictions  of 
the  navigation  acts  ;  during  the  Confederation  the  people  of 
different  states  began  to  trade  with  each  other  in  spite  of 
vexing  differences  between  their  commercial  systems  ;  now 
that  a  single  system  embraced  the  whole  country,  interstate 
trade  at  once  assumed  large  and  flourishing  proportions. 

Commerce  with  the  East  Indies  and  other  regions  closed  Foreign, 
during  colonial  times  began  to  flow  smoothly.    American 


62  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  FRONTIER 

shipping  was  encouraged  by  the  passage  of  a  navigation  act 
in  1789.  By  this  act,  ships  built  and  owned  by  foreigners 
paid  a  duty  of  fifty  cents  per  ton,  American-built  ships 
owned  by  foreigners  paid  thirty  cents,  and  those  wholly 
American,  only  six  cents.  The  last  class  received  also  the 
additional  advantage  of  a  ten  per  cent  reduction  in  the  duty 
charged  on  the  goods  they  brought  in.  The  effect  of  this 
legislation  was  immediate.  In  1787  only  thirty  per  cent  of 
our  exports  and  seventeen  and  a  half  per  cent  of  our 
imports  were  carried  in  American  vessels.  In  1795  the  fig 
ures  were  eighty-eight  and  ninety-two  per  cent  respectively, 
and  they  remained  approximately  the  same  for  many  years. 
The  classes  which  had  most  ardently  favored  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution  were,  therefore,  confirmed  in  its  support. 
Commercial  treaties  with  Spain  and  England,  however, 
were  still  wanting.  Jefferson  wished  to  bring  those  nations 
to  terms  by  discriminating  in  favor  of  the  goods  and  ships  of 
countries  with  which  we  had  treaties,  but  the  commercial 
element  doubted  the  efficiency  of  such  measures  and  feared 
they  would  bring  even  more  unfavorable  treatment  upon  us. 
His  policy  was  not  adopted. 

The  policy  The  settlement  of  boundary  and  commercial  questions 

itra  iy.  res{ec^  jn  factj  not  UpOn  ourselves  alone,  but  depended  on 
complex  interrelationships  among  all  the  nations  concerned. 
In  1790  our  two  neighbors,  Spain  and  England,  seemed  to 
be  on  the  point  of  war,  and  war  might  involve  hostilities 
in  our  own  western  country.  The  cabinet,  in  considering 
this  question,  laid  down  the  momentous  principle,  the  basis 
of  all  our  subsequent  foreign  policy,  that  it  was  to  our  in 
terest  to  remain  absolutely  neutral,  avoiding  entanglements 
with  either. 

The  French  This  war  cloud  never  burst,  but  there  was  already  gather 
ing  a  storm  much  more  serious,  which  resulted  in  1793  in  war 
between  England  and  France.  Although  France  was  not  a 
neighboring  power,  populations  of  French  descent  lived  in 


THE  MISSION  OF  GENET  63 

Louisiana  and  in  Canada,  and  French  statesmen  had  never 
given  up  their  dreams  of  colonial  empire.  Moreover,  Amer 
ican  commerce  used  the  seas  on  which  the  two  nations  con 
tended,  and  sought  the  ports  of_bpth.  Of  most  ominous 
significance,  however,  was  the  fact  that  this  war  became 
a  struggle  rather  between  parties  and  principles  than  be 
tween  nations  •  nations  were  divided  within  themselves,  and 
particularly  was  this  the  case  in  the  United  States.  The 
first  movements  of  the  French  Revolution  had  been  greeted 
in  this  country  with  almost  universal  approval,  but  when  the 
Louis  XVI  who  had  supported  our  Revolution  was  beheaded, 
when  Lafayette  was  forced  to  flee  from  France,  when  the 
Reign  of  Terror  established  anarchy  in  the  place  of  govern 
ment,  Washington,  Hamilton,  and  men  of  their  stamp  first 
cooled,  and  then  became  hostile.  Jefferson,  however,  saw 
only  the  triumph  of  the  rights  of  man,  and  looked  on  the 
"Terror"  as  a  temporary  phase,  soon  to  be  replaced  by  sane, 
democratic  government.  The  dangers  then  were,  that  the 
seemingly  frail  union  of  the  United  States  would  be  shat 
tered,  or  that  the  predominant  party  would  tear  the  nation 
from  its  neutrality  and  range  it  on  the  one  side  or  the  other. 
The  first  crisis  came  from  the  designs  of  the  French.  The 
treaties  of  1778  and  that  of  1788  gave  the  French  special 
privileges  in  our  ports  in  time  of  war,  and  contained  a  clause 
guaranteeing  the  French  possessions  in  the  West  Indies. 
Much  of  the  money  loaned  by  France  to  the  United 
States,  moreover,  was  still  unpaid,  and  the  French  leaders 
hoped  that  the  two  republics  thus  intimately  bound  together 
might  face  together  the  "impious  band  of  tyrants."  To 
bring  this  alliance  to  the  point,  they  sent,  as  minister  to  the 
United  States,  "Citizen  Genet,"  a  young  enthusiast,  who  The  mission 
reached  Charleston,  April  8,  1793.  There  he  issued  com-  of  Gen6t- 
missions  to  privateers  to  prey  on  English  commerce,  and  he 
journeyed  on  to  Philadelphia  amid  popular  demonstrations 
of  joy.  On  the  day  of  his  arrival  in  Charleston  the  news  of 


64         PROBLEMS  OF  THE  FRONTIER 

the  king's  death  had  reached  our  government,  and  counsel 
was  taken  as  to  the  policy  to  be  adopted.  Hamilton  and 
Jefferson  presented  conflicting  opinions,  and  Washington 
decided  on  a  middle  course.  He  would  receive  Genet  as 
minister  of  the  French  republic ;  he  would  not  take  the  stand 
urged  by  Hamilton  that  the  treaties  had  lapsed  because  made 
with  the  former  government  of  France  which  was  now  over 
thrown,  but  he  held  that  the  guarantee  of  the  French  pos 
sessions  was  not  binding  because  intended  to  apply  only 
in  case  France  was  fighting  a  defensive  war,  whereas  he  con 
sidered  that  France  was  now  the  aggressor.  He  would  in 
terpret  the  clauses  with  regard  to  port  privileges  for  French 
privateers  and  naval  vessels  as  narrowly  as  possible  in  order 
not  to  anger  England,  and  finally,  on  April  22,  he  issued  a 
proclamation  of  neutrality.  At  his  suggestion,  too,  a  law 
was  rushed  through  Congress,  giving  the  government  power 
strictly  to  enforce  this  neutral  policy  and  especially  to  pre 
vent  the  further  launching  of  French  privateers  from  our 
ports.  Genet,  therefore,  on  his  arrival  in  Philadelphia, 
found  justified  the  cynical  prediction  of  his  instructions, 
that  the  Americans  no  longer  regarded  "liberty  as  lovers, 
but  as  married  persons :  .  .  .  reflection  indeed  guides  them, 
but  it  cools  them."  At  least  the  government  showed  no 
disposition  to  enlist  in  a  crusade  for  universal  liberty. 
Western  Genet  was  instructed,  even  if  he  failed  to  receive  the  active 

assistance  of  the  government,  to  direct  certain  military  opera 
tions  from  the  United  States  as  a  base.  Not  without  the 
sympathy  of  Jefferson,  he  arranged  expeditions  of  American 
frontiersmen  against  the  Spanish  settlements  in  Florida  and 
Louisiana.  The  chief  expedition  was  to  be  directed  against 
New  Orleans,  and  Genet's  agent  for  the  purpose  was  Gen 
eral  George  Rogers  Clark,  who  during  the  Revolution  had 
led  the  frontier  soldiery  against  the  British  in  Illinois.  Love 
of  adventure  and  the  belief  that  this  was  a  practical  scheme 
for  opening  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  drew  many  to 


NEUTRAL  COMMERCE  65 

the  French  colors.  Genet's  further  project  of  separating  the 
West  from  the  Union  and  encouraging  the  establishment  of 
a  new  republic  in  the  Mississippi  valley  was  not  known  to 
many  of  his  American  associates.  It  was,  however,  an  es 
sential  part  of  the  French  program,  as  that  nation  was 
anxious  to  make  the  West  Indies  independent  of  this  country 
for  their  food  supply.  These  plans,  so  fraught  with  danger 
of  war  and  disunion  to  the  United  States,  did  not  succeed, 
partly  through  the  vigilance  of  General  Wayne  in  the  West, 
and  partly  because  Genet,  elated  by  the  popular  enthusiasm 
for  France,  put  himself  in  the  wrong  by  defying  the  govern 
ment,  fitting  out  an  illegally  captured  English  vessel  as  a 
privateer,  and  dispatching  it  for  a  cruise  from  Philadelphia 
itself,  under  the  very  nose  of  the  administration.  His  re 
call  was  requested,  and  his  party,  the  Girondists,  having 
fallen  in  France,  it  was  granted  by  the  new  French  gov 
ernment. 

While  the  allurements  of  Genet  failed  to  entice  us  into  a 
French  alliance,  the  policy  of  England  seemed  likely  to  drive 
us  perforce  into  hostilities  against  that  country.  Fisher 
Ames,  an  English  sympathizer,  wrote:  "The  English  are 
absolutely  madmen.  Order  in  this  country  is  endangered  by 
their  hostility  no  less  than  by  French  friendship.  They  act 
in  almost  every  point  against  their  interest  and  their  true 
wishes."  The  outbreak  of  the  European  war  had  at  first  Neutral 
seemed  wholly  beneficial  to  American  commerce.  Particu-  c 
larly  important  was  the  commerce  of  the  French  West  Indies, 
which  produced  at  that  time  immense  quantities  of 
sugar  and  coffee.  The  carrying  of  these  products  to  France 
was  now  done  almost  wholly  in  American  vessels,  which  re 
ceived  several  millions  yearly  as  freight.  A  great  provision 
trade  with  the  islands  sprang  up  also,  for  the  planters  were 
too  much  interested  in  their  staple  crops  to  raise  the  food 
they  needed,  and  the  European  wars  left  little  in  France  to 
export  to  them.  In  fact,  American  foodstuffs  were  in  de- 


66  PROBLEMS  OF   COMMERCE 

mand  in  Europe,  while  American  vessels,  having  the  ad 
vantage  of  a  neutral  flag,  found  ready  employment  on  many 
trade  routes.  In  America  farmers  enjoyed  high  prices, 
shipbuilding  increased,  wages  advanced,  and  successful 
merchants  began  to  pile  up  fortunes. 

Disputed  •  It  became  the  policy  of  England  to  cut  off,  or  at  least  to 
international  regulate,  this  neutral  trade.  During  the  two  centuries  in 
law.  which  she  had  been  the  greatest  naval  power^she  had  devel 

oped  a  system  of  international  law  giving  belligerent  nations 
great  power  over  neutrals.  In  defense  of  their  commerce, 
American  statesmen  resorted  to  the  theories  developed  by  the 
French  and  Dutch,  which  nations  had  found  it  to  their  ad 
vantage  to  limit  the  rights  of  belligerents  and  to  protect  the 
neutral.  For  twenty  years  English  and  American  diplomats 
clashed  over  these  rival  systems. 

England  claimed  the  right  to  seize,  as  contraband  of  war, 
provisions  destined  for  France,  on  the  ground  that  without 
them  the  war  could  not  be  carried  on.  These  provisions 
were,  it  is  true,  ultimately  paid  for,  but  England  persisted 
in  her  right  to  take  them,  while  the  United  States  refused 
to  grant  the  principle  that  foodstuffs  were  contraband. 
Moreover,  England  declared  many  French  ports  blockaded, 
and  claimed  the  right  to  seize  and  condemn  as  prize  any 
vessel  whose  papers  showed  it  to  be  destined  for  them.  The 
United  States  maintained  that  a  blockade,  to  be  legal,  must 
be  effective ;  that  is,  that  a  sufficient  fleet  must  be  kept  off 
the  port  to  render  entrance  practically  impossible,  and  that 
seizures  could  be  made  only  off  the  port.  England  also 
revived  the  "Rule  of  1756,"  declaring  that  any  trade  closed 
in  time  of  peace  should  remain  closed  in  time  of  war.  The 
effect  of  this  was  to  make  American  vessels  sailing  between 
the  French  West  Indies  and  France  liable  to  capture,  as  they 
had  been  forbidden  the  trade  by  France  before  the  war, 
when  she  wished  the  monopoly.  England  claimed  that 
France  should  not  have  the  advantage  of  monopoly  when 


HOSTILITY  OF  FRANCE  AND   OF  ENGLAND          67 

there  was  no  danger  to  her  own  vessels,  and  of  the  protection 
of  a  neutral  flag  during  times  of  war. 

In  executing  these  regulations,  the  English  navy  claimed  "Right  of 
the  right  of  stopping  and  searching  any  vessel  on  the  high  impressmen 
seas.  If  it  appeared  to  be  engaged  in  a  legal  voyage,  it  was 
released,  but  even  in  such  a  case  the  searching  officer  might 
force  into  the  English  naval  service  any  member  of  the  crew 
born  in_England.  The  United  States  acknowledged  the 
right  to  visit  a  vessel  and  to  examine  its  papers,  but  not  to 
examine  the  cargo  or  to  impress  the  crew.  This  matter 
of  impressment  was  scarcely  one  of  the  leading  questions  at 
this  time,  but  it  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  obstinate. 
If  a  mistake  were  made  and  a  native-born  American  were 
taken,  he  would  be  ultimately  returned ;  though  it  was  some 
times  after  years  of  negotiation,  and  many  died  in  the  English 
service.  If,  however,  he  were  an  English-born,  naturalized 
American,  agreement  was  impossible;  for  England  denied 
the  right  of  any  one  to  change  his  nationality,  while  the 
American  government  felt  it  its  duty  to  protect  all  its  citizens, 
naturalized  as  well  as  native. 

The  attitude  of  the  French  government  was  actually  not  Hostility  of 
much  more  friendly.  It  professed  the  most  liberal  views,  Of  England, 
but  claimed  that  if  the  United  States  could  not  defend  its 
neutral  rights  against  England,  France  was  justified  in  re 
taliating  specifically  for  every  English  regulation  which 
interfered  with  neutral  commerce.  This  somewhat  curious 
position,  which  was  afterwards  still  further  developed  by 
Napoleon,  rested  on  the  idea  that  neutral  nations  were 
bound  to  defend  their  neutral  rights,  that  because  the 
United  States  was  not  strong  enough  to  maintain  her  rights 
against  Great  Britain  the  latter  nation  received  certain  ad 
vantages,  that  the  United  States  to  that  extent  ceased  to  be 
a  neutral,  and  that  France  was  justified  in  seeking  redress 
by  retaliation  in  kind.  The  naval  predominance  of  Eng- 
vand,  however,  enabled  her  to  carry  out  her  policy  more 


68 


PROBLEMS  OF   COMMERCE 


Conflict  of 
policies. 


The  Jay 

treaty. 


fully,  while  the  brusqueness  of  the  English  officers,  and 
the  high-handed  methods  of  her  admiralty  courts  in  the 
West  Indies  gave  to  her  action  a  greater  offensiveness. 
Moreover,  the  French  design  of  separating  the  West  from  the 
Union  was  known  to  but  a  selected  few,  while  England 
openly  kept  the  frontier  posts,  and  was  popularly  supposed  to 
encourage  the  Indians  in  their  hostility.  The  result  was  tha^ 
England  received  even  more  than  her  fair  share  of  popular 
ill  feeling.  Indignation  reached  its  climax  when  the  news 
spread  that  eight  Algerian  corsairs  had  passed  the  straits  of 
Gibraltar,  it  was  believed  by  the  connivance  of  England, 
and  were  raiding  the  trade  routes  of  the  Atlantic. 

The  Republicans,  or  the  party  of  Jefferson,  proposed  to 
meet  this  emergency  by  suspending  all  commercial  inter 
course  with  Great  Britain  until  redress  was  given.  The 
Federalists,  the  party  of  Hamilton,  felt  that  this  would  be 
equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  war  with  Great  Britain, 
which  they  were  most  anxious  to  avoid.  After  a  vigorous 
debate  in  Congress  they  were  able  to  defeat  the  Republican 
proposals,  and  to  carry  out  their  own  policy.  They  put  a 
temporary  embargo  upon  all  commerce,  thus  avoiding  dis 
crimination  ;  they  increased  the  army  and  began  the  crea 
tion  of  a  navy;  and  they  sent  a  solemn  final  embassy 
to  England  to  test  the  possibility  of  agreement. 

John  Jay,  the  Chief  Justice,  who  was  appointed  to  under 
take  this  delicate  mission,  had  perhaps  the  best  diplomatic 
training  of  all  Americans,  but  he  was  naturally  timid,  and 
was  so  impressed  with  the  critical  character  of  his  task  that 
he  failed  to  take  full  advantage  of  the  perilous  position  in 
which  England  herself  was  at  this  time  placed  by  the  suc 
cesses  of  the  French.  He  had,  moreover,  a  dangerous  habit 
of  breaking  his  instructions. 

The  treaty  which  he  obtained  provided  in  the  first  place  for 
a  settlement  of  the  difficulties  growing  out  of  the  treaty  of 
1783.  The  British  agreed  to  give  up  the  frontier  posts,  and 


THE  JAY  TREATY  69 

commissions  were  arranged  to  settle  disputed  points  regarding 
the  boundary  and  the  claims  of  British  merchants  for  pre- 
revolutionary  debts.  Commissions  were  also  to  adjudicate 
on  the  claims  of  American  merchants,  resulting  from  illegal 
maritime  seizures,  and  of  British  merchants  for  seizures  by 
French  privateers  illegally  equipped  in  United  States  ports 
before  the  neutrality  law  began  to  work  effectively.  Dis 
puted  questions  of  international  law  were  not  mentioned,  or 
were  settled  in  favor  of  England,  except  that  more  effective 
notice  of  blockade  wasjto  be  given.  The  administration  o£ 
English  regulations  was  somewhat  eased,  partly  by  the  terms 
of  the  treaty  and  partly  by  an  understanding  between  Jay 
and  Grenville,  the  English  foreign  minister.  On  these  points 
no  one  could  have  done  much,  if  any,  better  than  did  Jay,  since 
nothing  but  total  defeat  could  have  brought  England  to 
curtail  her  belligerent  practices  upon  the  high  seas,  for  she 
considered  them  rights  and  essential  to  her  strength.  In 
framing  the  long-desired  commercial  treaty,  however,  Jay 
probably  obtained  less  than  another  might  have  done.  It 
provided  for  trade  on  the  basis  of  the  "most  favored  nation" 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 
It  gave  Americans  privileges  in  the  British  East  Indies,  and 
it  unbottled  western  Vermont,  whose  natural  outlet  was  down 
Lake  Champlain  and  the  Richelieu  River  to  the  St. 
Lawrence,  by  legalizing  trade  to  Montreal  and  Quebec.  In 
the  case  of  the  British  West  Indies,  however,  but  small  con 
cessions  were  allowed,  and  these  on  conditions  so  onerous 
that  the  Senate  rejected  this  article  of  the  treaty. 

This  treaty  violated  the  instructions  of  the  administration,  The  Jay 
particularly  in  yielding  to  some  of  the  English  contentions 
on  international  law.  Washington,  however,  decided  to 
present  it  to  the  Senate,  and  that  body  ratified  it  with  the 
exception  of  the  West  Indies  clause,  an  exception  to  which 
England  consented.  After  much  hesitation  Washington 
signed  it,  and  it  became  the  law  of  the  land.  In  the  sum- 


70  PROBLEMS  OF   COMMERCE 

mer  of  1795  it  was  made  public  and  was  greeted  by  a  storm 
of  popular  indignation.  When  Congress  met  in  December, 
the  Republicans  attacked  it  and  threatened  to  refuse  the 
appropriations  of  money  for  which  it  called.  The  Federalist 
leaders  exerted  themselves  to  the  uttermost,  and  by  the 
first  great  outburst  of  congressional  oratory  Fisher  Ames 
secured  the  passage  of  the  appropriation.  Thus  peace  with 
England  was  made  secure,  for  the  time  at  least. 

Results  of  the  The  treaty  worked  not  unfavorably.  The  commissions 
awarded  to  American  merchants  damages  much  greater  than 
to  the  British.  Vermont  could  now  send  her  products  to 
Montreal,  where  they  found  a  ready  market.  The  evacua 
tion  of  the  posts,  coming  just  after  Wayne's  victory  over  the 
Indians,  opened  up  the  Northwest  to  settlement.  Best  of 
all,  as  a  result  of  the  treaty  in  conjunction  with  European 
events,  Spain  at  length,  in  1795,  agreed  to  a  treaty  acknowl 
edging  the  American  claim  to  the  parallel  of  31°  as  a 
southern  boundary,  opening  the  navigation  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  allowing  New  Orleans  to  be  used  as  a  place  of  deposit 
for  three  years,  and  promising  to  renew  the  privilege  after 
that  period  or  to  assign  some  other  place  as  a  port  of  trans 
shipment. 

Washing-  In  1792,  when  the  time  of  the  second  presidential  election 

term.86  arrived,  Washington  had  desired  to  retire,  and  had  even 

gone  so  far  as  to  begin  the  preparation  of  a  farewell  address, 
The  situation  still  remained  so  critical,  however,  that  he 
consented  to  serve  another  term,  and  was  reflected  unani 
mously,  while  Adams  was  again  chosen  Vice  President  by 
a  substantial  majority.  During  his  second  administration, 
in  fact  by  the  year  1795,  the  new  government  was  proved 
to  be  a  success.  It  had  established  the  finances,  suppressed 
insurrection,  regulated  and  protected  commerce,  cleared  the 
boundaries  recognized  by  the  treaty  of  1783  of  European 
troops,  conquered  peace  with  the  Indians,  opened  the  Mis 
sissippi,  and  maintained  a  dignified  neutrality  in  spite  of  the 


WASHINGTON'S  RETIREMENT  71 

all-absorbing  European  war.  Nevertheless,  Washington 
was  saddened,  because  during  this  term  it  was  equally  proved 
that  his  hope  of  uniting  the  ablest  men  of  the  country,  though 
of  differing  politicai_vjews,  in  a  joint  effort  to  govern  the 
country,  was  to  be  disappointed.  The  division  which  had 
appeared  in  the  bank  controversy  was  widened  by  the  French 
Revolution.  Jefferson  and  his  associates  sympathized  with 
France,  Hamilton  and  his  supporters  with  England.  The 
division  spread  through  the  country,  and  in  Congress  the 
great  majority  of  the  members  came  to  be  known  as  Federal 
ists  or  as  Republicans,  only  a  small  number  holding  them 
selves  independent  of  party.  When  Jefferson  resigned  as 
Secretary  of  State  in  1793,  he  was  succeeded  by  Edmund 
Randolph,  a  man  of  wavering  views.  In  1795  the  latter  was 
forced  to  resign,  owing  to  improper  communications  with  the 
French  minister.  Timothy  Pickering,  who  succeeded  him, 
was  a  thoroughgoing  and  partisan  Federalist,  and  from  this 
time  the  administration  must  be  regarded  as  belonging  to 
that  party.  Hamilton  had  left  the  cabinet  in  1795  to  engage 
in  the  more  lucrative  practice  of  law  in  New  York,  but  he 
was  replaced  at  the  Treasury  by  a  devoted  follower,  Oliver 
Wolcott,  and  his  advice  was  still  sought  and  generally  taken 
on  important  questions. 

Washington  was  deeply  sensitive  to  the  attacks  which  Washing- 
the  opposition  press  made  upon  the  government  and 
upon  even  himself  personally,  and,  practically  all  the  dangers 
which  had  threatened  the  nation  in  1784  having  been 
averted  at  least  for  the  time,  he  determined  to  carry 
out  his  plan  and  finally  retire  to  Mount  Vernon.  In  re 
fusing  a  third  term  he  established  another  "convention  of 
the  Constitution,"  or  unwritten  law,  which  has  not  yet  been 
broken.  In  his  Farewell  Address  he  sought,  with  some  suc 
cess,  to  fix  upon  the  country  certain  fundamentaj_jx)licies, 
calculated  to  keep  it  from  danger  and  guide  its  continuous 
advancement.  He  warned  his  countrymen  of  the  danger 


72  PROBLEMS  OF  COMMERCE 

of  sectionalism,  and  of  the  necessity  of  actively  developing 
a  national  feeling  based  on  a  really  national  life ;  he  pointed 
out  the  evils  of  party  and  factional  divisions ;  and,  finally, 
he  urged  that  the  United  States  preserve  that  policy  of 
neutrality  with  regard  to  European  wars  which  he  had  in 
augurated.  On  the  4th  of  March,  1797,  he  left  office.  If 
he  had  been  younger,  he  would  have  been  happy  in  what 
he  had  accomplished,  but  although  only  sixty-five  years  of 
age,  he  was  broken  in  the  service  of  his  country,  and  his  fears 
for  the  future  overcast  his  joy  in  his  accomplishments.  No 
man  has  ever  done  more  for  his  fellow-citizens. 


Sources. 


Historical 
accounts. 
Frontier. 
Genet  affair. 


Jay  treaty. 


Party  align 
ment. 


Political 
methods. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

Fisher  Ames's  oration  on  the  Jay  treaty  makes  a  valuable  as 
signment.  For  public  sentiment  with  regard  to  the  French  Revohi' 
tion  see  Hart,  A.  B.,  History  told  by  Contemporaries,  nos.  93-95. 
Washington's  Farewell  Address,  Richardson's  Messages  and  Papers 
of  the  Presidents,  I,  213-224,  gives  a  good  review  of  conditions. 

Hildreth,  R.,  United  States,  IV,  498-538.  Roosevelt,  T.,  Win 
ning  of  the  West,  IV,  chs.  I,  II. 

Bassett,  Federalist  System,  84-101.  Foster,  J.  T.,  American 
Diplomacy,  chs.  IV,  V.  Hazen,  C.  D.,  Contemporary  American 
Opinion  of  the  French  Rewhition  (Johns  Hopkins  Historical  Studies, 
XVI) ,  ch.  IV.  McMaster,  United  States,  II,  86-191 .  Turner,  F.  J., 
Genet's  Attack  on  Louisiana  and  the  Floridas  (Am.  Hist.  Review, 
III,  650-671). 

Bassett,  Federalist  System,  117-136.  Conway,  M.  D.,  Ed 
mund  Randolph.  McMaster,  United  States,  II,  165-170;  213- 
242.  Moore,  J.  B.,  American  Diplomacy,  chs.  II,  III.  Pellew, 
/.  Jay,  ch.  X. 

Adams,  H.,  Administrations  of  Jefferson  and  Madison,  I,  chs. 
Ill,  V.  Bassett,  Federalist  System,  42-56,  136-150.  Fiske,  J., 
Essays,  Historical  and  Literary,  I,  99-142.  Lowell,  A.  L.,  Influence 
of  Party  on  Legislation  (Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,  Report,  1901,  vol.  I, 
319-542).  Sumner,  W.  G.,  Hamilton,  chs.  X-XIII.  Woodburn, 
J.  A.,  Political  Parties,  1-30. 

Becker,  C.  L.,  Parties  in  Colonial  New  York  (Am.  Hist.  Review, 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  73 

VI,  260-275 ;  VII,  56-76) .  Caheen,  F.  van  A.,  Society  of  Saint  Tam 
many  of  Philadelphia  (Pa.  Mag.  of  Hist.,  January,  1903).  Jernegan, 
N.  W.,  The  Tammany  Societies  of  Rhode  Island  (Brown  University 
Historical  Seminary,  Papers,  no.  8).  Luetscher,  G.  D.,  Early 
Political  Machinery  in  the  United  States.  Meyer,  G.,  History  of 
Tammany  Hall.  Walton,  J.  S.,  Nominating  Conventions  in  Penn 
sylvania  (Am.  Hist.  Review,  II,  262-279). 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF   JOHN   ADAMS 

The  election  ALTHOUGH  Washington  had  been  unanimously  elected  in 
ms'  1792,  the  vote  for  Vice  President  had  been  on  party  lines. 
The  electors  of  New  York,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and 
Georgia  had  voted  for  George  Clinton,  a  Republican ;  those 
of  Kentucky  for  Jefferson ;  and  Adams  was  reflected  only  by 
seventy-seven  to  fifty-five.  In  1796  a  still  closer  division 
of  the  electoral  college  was  to  be  expected.  In  anticipation 
of  the  election,  conferences  or  caucuses  were  held  by  the  mem 
bers  of  Congress  belonging  to  the  different  parties.  John 
Adams  and  ThomasJPinckney,  popular  as  the  negotiator  of 
the  Spanish  treaty,  were  selected  as  the  Federalist  candidates, 
and  Jefferson  and  Burr  as  the  Republican.  These  nomina 
tions  were  not  regarded  as  absolutely  binding  upon  the 
electors,  who  were  still  expected  by  many  to  use  their  own 
discretion.  Hamilton,  in  fact,  who  distrusted  the  Federalism 
and  the  temper  of  Adams,  hoped  to  reverse  the  order  of  the 
Federalist  candidates.  Each  elector  was  to  cast  two  votes, 
and  the  candidate  receiving  the  highest  number  would 
be  elected  President,  and  the  next  highest,  Vice  Presi 
dent.  Hamilton  tried  to  persuade  all  the  Adams  electors  to 
vote  for  Pinckney,  expecting  that  some  scattering  votes 
would  also  go  to  him,  thus  bringing  him  the  largest  vote  and 
the  presidency.  The  result  was  unexpected.  The  plan  of 
Hamilton  became  known,  and  so  alarmed  the  friends  of  Adams 
that  twenty-one  of  them  declined  to  vote  for  Pinckney,  and 

74 


RELATIONS  WITH  FRANCE  75 

although  a  majority  of  the  electors  were  Federalists  and 
Adams  was  elected  President,  Jefferson  received  the  second 
largest  vote  and  became  Vice  President. 

Adams  thus  became  President  after  a  contest  which  re-  Adams's 
vealed  not  only  that  two  parties  divided  the  country,  but  cabinet- 
also  that  the  Federalists  were  divided  among  themselves. 
He  must  needs  fight  for  the  leadership  of  his  own  party. 
Under  these  circumstances,  his  decision  to  retain  Washing 
ton's  entire  cabinet  was  unfortunate,  as  its  members,  being 
friends  of  Hamilton,  looked  to  the  latter  for  advice  and  failed 
to  give  the  new  President  loyal  support. 

The  first  problem  that  confronted  the  administration  was  French  in- 
a  new  phase  of  the  foreign  situation.  France  had  been  very  tn^ues- 
much  incensed  by  the  Jay  treaty.  She  held  that  the  United 
States  was  bound,  both  by  special  treaties  and  by  interna 
tional  obligation,  to  defend  its  rights  as  a  neutral  to  the 
fullest  extent ;  that  in  surrendering  these  rights  to  England 
it  had  become  de  facto  the  enemy  of  the  French  republic. 
James  Monroe,  a  friend  of  Jefferson,  had  been  sent  on  a 
mission  of  conciliation,  but  he  so  thoroughly  sympathized 
with  the  French  position  that  he  became  indiscreet  and  was 
recalled.  On  leaving,  he  intimated  to  the  French  govern 
ment  that  there  were  two  parties  in  America,  that  Jefferson 
would  succeed  Washington,  and  that,  after  the  election,  satis 
faction  would  be  given. 

The  French  government  was  prompt  to  throw  its  influence 
on  Jefferson's  side.  It  refused  to  receive  Monroe's  successor, 
the  Federalist,  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney,  and  ordered 
Adet,  its  minister  in  the  United  States,  to  suspend  his  diplo 
matic  functions.  Adet  announced  his  withdrawal  in  a  letter, 
written  for  the  public  eye,  which  was  immediately  printed 
and  had  some  influence  on  the  election.  While  thus  work 
ing  for  the  success  of  the  pro-French  party,  Adet  secretly 
laid  plans,  in  case  of  the  election  of  Adams,  to  revive, 
on  a  large  scale  and  somewhat  different  plan,  those  projects 


76  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN    ADAMS 

with  reference   to   the  western  country  which  Genet  had 
endeavored  to  carry  out. 

The  pro-  This  was  the  situation  with  which  Adams  had  to  deal. 

Eyrand.  "  He  resolved  to  make  an  effort  to  reestablish  diplomatic  in 
tercourse,  and  to  that  end  sent  John  Marshall  and  Elbridge 
Gerry  to  join  Pinckney,  making  a  special  commission  con 
sisting  of  two  Federalists  and  one  Republican.  The  French 
government  remained,  on  the  surface,  obdurate,  but  Talley 
rand,  the  French  foreign  minister,  through  authorized  agents, 
offered  to  negotiate  if  bribes  were  given  to  him  and  to  his 
associates,  and  a  large  sum  of  money  to  the  French  treasury. 
William  Pitt,  prime  minister  of  England,  was  at  the  time 
toying  with  an  offer  precisely  similar,  but  our  commissioners, 
less  accustomed  to  the  devious  methods  of  continental  diplo 
macy,  emphatically  refused  to  buy  French  friendship,  and, 
finding  no  other  way  open,  returned  to  America. 

TheXYZ  The  correspondence  of  the  commissioners,  known  from 

affair'  the  fictitious  names  given  Talleyrand's  agents  as  the  '^Y.Z 

correspondence,"  was  at  once  sent  to  Congress  by  Adams, 
with  the~assertion  that  he  would  "never  send  another  minister 
to  France  without  assurances  thaTlie""wiIl  Be  received^a^ 
spected,  and  honored  as  the  representative  of  a  great,  free, 
powerful,  and  independent  nation."  Congress,  although  the 
balance  in  the  House  of  Representatives  was  held  by  a  few 
independents,  passed  by  large  majorities  the  measures  recom 
mended  by  the  administration  (1798) .  A  direct  tax  was  voted, 
and  a  large  volunteer  army  was  provided  for,  of  which  Wash 
ington  consented  to  take  command,  with  Hamilton  as  active 
head.  The  navy  was  largely  increased,  a; ;d  a  navy  depart 
ment  organized.  Commercial  intercourse  with  France  and 
the  French  possessions  was  ordered  discontinued,  the  French 
treaties  were  declared  abrogated,  American  warships  were 
authorized  to  engage  and  capture  French  warships,  and 
private  vessels  were  permitted  to  arm  both  for  defense  and 
to  attack  any  armed  vessel,  public  or  private,  flying  the 


THE  FEDERALIST  PROGRAM  77 

French  flag.  Hostilities  existed,  naval  encounters  occurred, 
and  several  hundred  merchant  vessels  changed  hands,  but 
no  declarations  were  exchanged,  and  it  was  not  war  to  the 
finish. 

Great  popular  excitement  prevailed.  The  X  Y  Z  cor-  War  feeling, 
respondence  was  published,  and  Pinckney's  "No,  no,  no, 
not  a  penny,"  transmuted  into  the  ringing  phrase  "Millions 
joj  Defense,  but  not  one  centjpr  tribute/'  raised  him  into  a 
national  hero;  ad5f esses  of  loyalty  were  showered  upon  the 
President,  and  the  black  cockade  of  Federalism  was  worn 
by  many  who  up  to  this  time  had  clung  to  French  friend 
ship  and  Republican  doctrines.  Joseph  Hopkinson  wrote 
Hail,  Columbia,  which  became  for  a  time  the  national 
anthem. 

The  Federalist  leaders  considered  that  this  outburst  of  The  Federal- 
national  feeling  gave  them  an  opportunity  to  put  a  bit  in  the 
mouth  of  democracy.  The  Constitution  had  done  some 
thing  to  check  what  they  considered  the  license  of  the  Rev 
olutionary  period,  but  the  Whisky  Rebellion,  the  scurrilous 
vituperation  of  the  press,  widespread  and  demonstrative 
sympathy  with  the  doctrines  of  the  French  revolutionists, 
so  much  more  radical  than  those  of  the  most  extreme  leaders 
in  America  twenty  years  before,  convinced  them  that  some 
thing  more  must  be  done  to  repress  the  demoralizing  tend 
encies  of  the  times.  They  therefore  speedily  adopted  a 
program  of  reaction,  which  the  momentary  popular  anger 
against  France  enabled  them  to  carry  through  Congress. 
Many  of  the  Republican  leaders  were  of  foreign  birth,  par 
ticularly  Albert  C&llatin,  who  had  been  concerned  as  a  mod 
erate  in  the  Whisky  Rebellion  and  was  now  leader  of  the  op 
position  in  Congress;  and  so  in  the  spring  of  1798  Congress 
increased  the  term  of  residence  in  the  country  required  for 
naturalization  from  five  to  fourteen  years,  and  passed  the 
"  Alien  Law,"  allowing  the  President  to  remove,  at  his  dis 
cretion,  obnoxious  foreigners  residing  in  the  country.  No 


78  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF   JOHN  ADAMS 

prosecutions,  however,  were  attempted  under  the  law.  The 
second  step  was  an  attack  on  the  press.  A  "Sedition  Act'"' 
was  passed,  making  it  a  crime  to  libel  Congress  or  the  Presi 
dent;  prosecutions  under  it  promptly  began,  and  con 
victions  were  secured,  the  most  noteworthy  being  that  of 
Callender,  a  friend  of  Jefferson.  Also,  Adams  removed  from 
office  some  few  of  the  more  active  of  his  opponents,  and  was 
urged  to  make  a  clean  sweep.  "The  ingrates,"  said  the 
Columbian  Sentinel,  "ought  not  for  a  moment  to  be  suf 
fered  to  eat  the  bread  of  the  public,  when  they  wait  only  for 
a  safe  occasion  to  betray  our  country  to  France." 

The  elections  In  the  fall  of  1 798  and  the  spring  of  1799  occurred  elections 
of  1798-1799.  for  congresS)  ancj  the  contest  was  hard  fought.  The  Feder 
alists  appealed  to  the  people  to  support  the  administration 
in  a  time  of  national  peril  against  the  "Jacobins,"  who  would 
sacrifice  the  country  to  France.  The  Republicans  attacked 
the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws.  The  Federalists  were  surpris 
ingly  successful ;  even  south  of  the  Potomac,  where  they  had 
been  least  strong,  they  elected  twenty-two  members  to  fifteen 
Republicans.  Encouraged  by  this  popular  approval,  they 
planned  to  push  forward  their  policy  of  increasing  the  power 
of  the  central  government..  They  passed  a  national  bank 
ruptcy  law,  they  adopted  a  more  elaborate  organization  for 
the  judiciary,  increasing  the  number  of  judges ;  and  Hamil 
ton  advised  that  a  system  of  internal  improvements  be  under 
taken,  that  the  people  might  become  accustomed  to  look  to 
the  national  government  rather  than  to  the  states  for  bene- 
^ficial  legislation. 

War  plans.  Vital  to  the  success  of  the  Federalists  was  the  continuance 

of  hostilities  with  France.  Hamilton  even  thought  to  extend 
the  scope  of  the  war.  France  was  out  of  our  reach,  but  Spain 
was  the  ally  of  France,  and  "France  is  not  to  be  con 
sidered  as  separated  from  her  ally."  "Tempting  objects  will 
be  within  our  grasp."  Largely  ignoring  Adams,  he  corre 
sponded  with  Rufus  King,  minister  to  England,  with  Pitt, 


PEACE   WITH  FRANCE  79 

and  with  Don  Francisco  de  Miranda,  a  Spanish  American 
who  sought  cooperation  in  the  revolutionizing  of  Spain's  pos 
sessions  in  America.  A  plan  was  in  process  of  arrangement, 
according  to  which  Hamilton  was  to  lead  the  army,  Great 
Britain  was  to  furnish  the  navy,  and  the  ultimate  object  was 
to  be  the  establishment  of  well-ordered,  constitutional  inde 
pendence  for  Spanish  America,  the  addition  of  Florida  and 
New  Orleans  to  the  United  States,  and  the  sharing  of  the 
commercial  advantages  to  come  from  the  overthrow  of 
Spain's  monopolistic  system  by  the  United  States  and  Eng 
land.  To  this  scheme  the  opposition  of  Adams  proved  fatal. 
He  refused  to  countenance  the  Miranda  negotiation,  and 
he  allowed  trade  with  the  French  ports  in  the  island  now 
called  Haiti,  thereby  preventing  Hamilton's  plan  of  starv 
ing  that  island  until  it  declared  its  independence  and  threw 
in  its  fortunes  with  England  and  the  United  States.  Finally, 
on  receiving  assurances  that  a  minister  would  be  properly 
received  by  France,  he  at  once,  without  even  consulting  his 
cabinet,  which  he  knew  would  be  hostile,  nominated  William 
Vans  Murray  for  the  post. 

The  popular  desire  for  peace  was  so  great  that  the  Senate  Peace  with 
dared  not  reject  the  opportunity,  but  Adams  was  induced 
to  send  three  commissioners,  Oliver  Ellsworth,  Governor 
Davie  of  North  Carolina,  and  Murray,  instead  of  a  minister. 
The  offer  on  the  part  of  France  did  not  indicate  a  change 
of  heart,  but  a  conviction  that  a  mistake  had  been  made. 
Talleyrand  had  not  intended  actual  war;  our  merchant 
marine  was  too  useful  to  French  commerce,  and  our  food 
stuffs  too  vital  to  the  French  West  Indies.  He  had  hoped  to 
frighten  the  United  States,  and  had  failed.  On  September  30, 
1800,  a  convention  was  concluded  at  Paris  which  was  mutually 
satisfactory.  France  renounced  her  claims  under  the  treaties 
of  1778  and  of  1788,  and  the  United  States  forbore  to  press 
the  claim  of  Americans  for  certain  classes  of  illegal  seizures. 
With  the  French  peace,  plans  for  an  English  alliance  fell,  and 


8o 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS 


The  effect 
of  the  peace. 


Federalist 
factions. 


Adams's  action  restored  to  the  nation  that  neutrality  and 
isolation  from  European  politics  which  Washington  had 
believed  to  be  so  essential  to  our  progress. 

Hamilton  and  his  friends  were  not  able  to  oppose  in  public 
the  restoration  of  peace,  as  they  had  not  been  able  to  reveal, 
to  the  public  all  their  plans,  because  an  overwhelming  major 
ity  of  the  people  either  sympathized  with  France  or  believed 
in  the  policy  of  peace,  if  there  could  be  peace  with  honor. 
Among  themselves,  however,  they  execrated  Adams.  Theo-.v 
dore  Sedgwick,  Speaker  of  the  House,  wrote:  "Had  the 
foulest  heart  and  the  ablest  head  in  the  world  been  per 
mitted  to  select  the  most  embarrassing  and  ruinous  measure, 
perhaps  it  would  have  been  precisely  the  one  which  has 
been  adopted."  Mutual  quarrels  led  Adams  to  dismiss 
Pickering,  the  Secretary  of  State;  others  of  the  cabinet 
resigned ;  and  he  appointed  in  their  stead  men  whose  views 
harmonized  with  his  own,  John  Marshall  becoming  Secretary 
of  State. 

This  breach  was  partly  the  result  of  a  rivalry  and  mutual 
distrust  between  Adams  and  Hamilton,  which  was  of  very 
long  standing  and  which  was  accentuated  by  Hamilton's 
attempt,  in  1796,  to  deprive  Adams  of  the  succession,  and  by 
the  reluctance  with  which  Adams  acceded  in  1798  to  Wash 
ington's  request  to  make  Hamilton  second  in  command  in  the 
new  army.  The  difference  was,  however,  far  more  than 
personal.  About  Hamilton  gathered  a  group  of  able,  self- 
sufficient  men  who  distrusted  popular  government  more  and- 
more  with  every  passing  year.  George  Cabot,  leading  ( 
member  of  the  "  Essex  Junto,"  as  the  Massachusetts  group  » 
of  " high- toned"  Federalists  was  called,  wrote  in  1801 : 
"There  is  no  security  for  a  good  government  without  some 
popular  mixture  in  it;  but  there  will  be  neither  justice  nor 
stability  in  any  system  if  some  material  parts  of  it  are  not 
independent  of  popular  control."  In  1804  he  wrote:  "I 
hold  democracy  in  its  natural  operation  to  be  the  government 


FEDERALIST  FACTIONS  8l 

of  the  worst."  These  men  believed,  as  had  John  Cotton, 
in  a  government  neither  "meerly  democratical,"  nor  "  meerly 
aristocratical " ;  and  with  Winthrop,  that  "The  best  part  of 
a  community  is  always  the  least,  and  of  that  least  part,  the 
wiser  is  still  less."  They  deprecated  the  peace  with  France 
for  domestic  reasons,  for  without  war,  said  George  Cabot, 
"The  people  will  not  support  the  army;  the  navy  will  not 
be  increased ;  neither  taxes  nor  loans  will  be  permitted  be 
yond  what  may  be  necessary  to  discharge  existing  engage 
ments."  They  felt,  moreover,  that  the  United  States  could 
not  forever  stand  as  a  spectator  of  the  world  contest  which 
was  going  on  between  the  untrammeled  forces  of  democracy 
represented  by  France,  and  England,  the  defender  of  au 
thority,  of  law  and  order.  They  believed  that  if  we  waited 
until  that  contest  was  decided,  we  should  fall  a  victim  to 
whichever  side  was  victorious.  George  Cabot  wrote,  June  9, 
1798:  "It  is  pretty  certain  that,  if  Great  Britain  yields,  we 
shall  have  the  weight  of  the  whole  European  world  to  oppress 
us." 

Although  these  leaders  practically  controlled  the  party,  Federalist 
they  realized  that  they  could  not  control  the  country  without 
the  addition  of  the  more  moderate  Federalists  of  the  Adams 
type,  who  had  somewhat  more  of  confidence  in  the  people 
and  in  the  ability  of  the  United  States  to  stand  alone  and 
aloof.  Consequently,  Hamilton  advised  that  in  the  forth 
coming  campaign  all  should  loyally  support  Adams  for  the 
presidency,  although  he  set  forth  in  a  pamphlet,  designed 
for  private  circulation,  that  the  latter  was  totally  unfitted 
for  that  office  by  reason  of'  his  views  and  his  temperament. 
The  candidate  agreed  upon  for  Vice  President  was  C.  C. 
Pinckney,  whose  name  would  recall  the  intrigues  and  the  in 
sults  of  the  French.  With  the  war  issue  removed,  divided 
in  counsel  and  deprived  by  Washington's  death  in  1799  of 
the  great  prestige  of  his  support,  the  Federalists  realized 
that  the  campaign  of  1800  would  prove  very  much  more 


82  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF   JOHN  ADAMS 

difficult  than  that  of  1798-1799.     Yet  they  fully  expected 
a  victory,  confident  in  their  record  of  usefulness. 

Republi-  This  record,  however,  was  precisely  the  basis  of  the  Ke 

rn  program.  publican  campaign.  The  leaders  of  that  party  attacked  the 
whole  centralizing  tendencies  of  the  last  twelve  years,  the 
increase  of  taxes,  the  failure  to  reduce  the  debt,  the  multipli 
cation  of  public  officers.  They  attacked  the  administration 
as  tyrannical  because  of  its  prosecutions  under  the  Sedition 
Law  and  its  removals  from  office ;  they  attacked  the  judiciary 
for  partial  conduct  in  the  trial  of  one  Fries,  accused  of 
treason  for  inciting  armed  resistance  in  Pennsylvania  to  the 
collection  of  the  direct  tax.  But,  under  the  skillful  leadership 
of  Jefferson,  they  emphasized  most  of  all  the  lurking  danger  to 
liberty  and  popular  government  involved  in  the  stretching  of 
the  Constitution  by  the  doctrine  of  "implied  powers."  As 
an  antidote  to  the  policy  of  centralization  and  as  a  platform 
about  which  to  rally  the  party,  Jefferson's  friends  secured  in 
1798  the  passage  by  the  legislatures  of  Kentucky  and  Vir 
ginia,  of  resolutions  condemning  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Acts. 
Those  of  Kentucky,  adopted  almost  verbatim  as  drawn  up  by 
Jefferson,  stated  that  the  Constitution  was  a  compact,  "that 
the  government  created  by  this  compact  was  not  made  the 
exclusive  or  final  judge  of  the  extent  of  the  powers  delegated  to 
itself  .  .  .  but  that  .  .  .  each  party  [state]  has  an  equal  right 
to  judge  for  itself,  as  well  as  of  infractions,  as  of  the  mode 
and  measure  of  redress."  The  Virginia  resolutions,  drafted 
by  Madison,  gave  a  similar  interpretation  to  the  Constitution, 
and  added:  "That  in  case  of  a  deliberate,  palpable,  and 
dangerous  exercise  of  other  powers  not  granted  by  the  said 
compact,  the  States  who  are  the  parties  thereto,  have 
the  right,  and  are  in  duty  bound,  to  interpose  for  arresting 
the  progress  of  the  evil,  and  for  maintaining  within  the 
respective  limits,  the  authorities,  rights,  and  liberties  apper 
taining  to  them."  The  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws  were  de 
clared  to  be  instances  of  such  violation.  When  nine  of 


THE  ELECTIONS  OF   1800  AND   1801  83 

the  ten  states  lying  to  the  north  replied  unfavorably  to  the 
constitutional  interpretation  presented  by  Virginia  and  Ken 
tucky,  the  latter  state,  November  22,  1799,  passed  a  new 
resolution  setting  forth  the  theory  that  in  case  of  an  infrac 
tion  of  the  federal  compact  by  the  national  government: 
"  Nullification  by  those  sovereignties  [the  states],  of  all  un 
authorized  acts  done  under  color  of  that  instrument,  is  the 
rightful  remedy."  In  Virginia  John  Randolph  of  Roanoke, 
John  Taylor  of  Caroline,  and  others  contemplated  the  possi 
bility  of  separation  from  the  Union,  and  urged  that  the  state 
prepare  herself  for  self-defense.  Jefferson  did  not  give  coun 
tenance  to  violent  action,  however.  Solemnly  to  voice  a 
protest  was  all  that  he  desired,  at  any  rate  for  the  present ; 
he  had  confidence  that  under  the  normal  conditions  of  peace 
his  principles  were  those  of  a  majority  of  the  people,  and  he 
confidently  expected  that  the  election  would  establish  his 
principles. 

While  Jefferson  directed  party  policy,  the  Republican  Aaron  BUIT. 
candidate  for  the  vice  presidency,  Aaron  Burr  of  New  York, 
applied  himself  with  equal  skill  to  the  manipulation  of  poli 
tics  in  that  pivotal  state.  He  secured  and  published 
Hamilton's  letter  condemning  Adams;  he  organized  and 
combined  all  the  elements  in  any  way  dissatisfied  with  the 
Federalist  administration,  and  finally  succeeded  in  carrying 
the  new  state  legislature  which  would  choose  the  presidential 
electors. 

The  election  throughout  the  country  resulted  in  the  choice  The  elections 
of  seventy-three  Republican  electors  to  sixty-five  Federalist,  °goi. 
This  assured  the  defeat  of  the  Federalists,  but  it  did  not  de 
termine  who  would  be  the  next  President.     Jefferson  and 
Burr  received  an  equal  vote,  and  the  election  was  therefore 
thrown   into   the   House  of   Representatives,  —  the  House 
which  was  elected  in  1798-99  and  in  which  the  Federalists 
retained  the  majority.     It  therefore  fell  to  them  to  choose 
between  their  two  opponents.     The  majority  preferred  Burr ; 


84 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  ADAMS 


The  achieve 
ments  of  the 
Federalists. 


Causes  of 
Federalist 
defeat. 


young,  brilliant,  fascinating,  an  opportunist  devoid  of  politi 
cal  principle,  he  might,  they  felt,  by  care  and  skill  be  made 
in  effect  a  Federalist  President.  Burr,  however,  refused  to 
commit  himself  by  promises,  and  Hamilton,  long  the  rival 
of  Burr  in  law  as  of  Jefferson  in  politics,  urged  that  it  would 
be  safer  to  choose  Jefferson,  who  would,  though  an  enemy, 
be  timid  and  conciliatory,  rather  than  Burr,  whom  he  be 
lieved  to  be  entirely  untrustworthy.  Hamilton's  advice 
was  finally  taken,  and  on  February  17,  1801,  by  the  thirty- 
sixth  ballot,  Jefferson  was  elected  President. 

The  Federalists,  in  their  twelve  years  of  power,  had  given 
the  country  so  good  a  government  that  the  Constitution  was 
universally  accepted  as  a  success,  and  there  was  contest  only 
over  its  interpretation.  They  had  established  many  supple 
mentary  practices  or  conventions  so  well  devised  as  to  last 
until  our  own  day.  They  had  preserved  the  neutrality  of  the 
country  in  the  great  struggles  that  were  desolating  Europe, 
in  spite  of  threats  and  lures  and  internal  divisions,  and  in  so 
doing  had  laid  the  foundations  of  our  foreign  policy.  Finally, 
one  of  the  last  acts  of  Adams  was  to  appoint  to  the  position 
of  Chief  Justice,  John  Marshall,  who,  in  a  series  of  decisions 
extending  through  thirty-five  years,  was  to  embody  per 
manently  in  the  law  of  the  land  the  constitutional  principles 
of  moderate  Federalism. 

The  Federalists  lost  power  because  they  were  out  of  sym 
pathy  with  a  majority  of  the  people.  The  leadership  of  the 
party  came  from  the  financial  and  commercial  classes,  whereas 
agriculture  was  the  predominant  interest  of  the  country. 
They  stood  for  national  centralization,  whereas  the  spirit  of 
local  independence  was  still  more  vital  than  that  of  nation 
ality.  The  country  had  not  yet  grown  together  into  a  real 
economic  unit,  nor  had  it  been  fused  into  one  by  an  endur 
ing  national  patriotism.  The  Federalists,  moreover,  were 
firm  believers  in  the  subordination  of  the  "masses,  while  the 
spirit  of  democracy  and  the  confidence  of  the  people  in 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  85 

themselves  were  growing  daily  stronger.  The  work  of  the 
Federalists  in  organizing  and  establishing  the  central  gov 
ernment  proved  of  permanent  value,  but  the  people  now 
preferred  to  give  the  administration  of  it  to  men  more  in 
sympathy  with  their  interests  and  ideals. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES 

For  the  Kentucky  and  Virginia  resolutions,  etc.,  American  His-  Sources. 
tory  Leaflets,  no.  15.     Ames,  H.  V.,  State  Documents  on  Federal 
Relations,  15-26.     Johnston,  A.,  Readings  on  American  Constitu 
tional  History,  228-236.     Macdonald,  W.,  Select  Documents,  148. 

Adams,   C.  F.,  John  Adams,   II,   ch.  X.     Allen,  G.  W.,  Our  Historical 
Naval   War  with  France.     Bassett,   Federalist  System,    204-252. 
Schouler,  J.,  United  States,  I,  ch.  IV. 

Adams,  H.,  A.  Gallatin,  189-266.    Adams,  H.,  John  Randolph,   Political 
ch.  II.     Anderson,  F.  M.,  Contemporary  Opinion  of  Kentucky  and  contest- 
Virginia    Resolutions    (Am.   Hist.   Review,   V,   45-63,    225-244). 
Bassett,  Federalist  System,  252-276.     Hoist,  H.  von,  United  States, 
I,  ch.  IV.     Hunt,  G.,  /.  Madison,  259-271.     Story,  J.,  Commen 
taries,  sees.  158,  1288,  1289,  1885,  1886. 


CHAPTER  VII 
JEFFERSONIAN   DEMOCRACY 

The  inaugu-  ON  March  4,  i8oi,  Thomas  Jefferson  was  inaugurated.  It 
was  the  first  occasion  on  which  a  President  took  office  at 
Washington,  although  the  government  had  moved  there  the 
year  before.  The  city  had  but  a  small  population,  scattered 
here  and  there  over  the  great  area  laid  out  by  PEnfant,  the 
French  engineer,  and  the  public  buildings  were  unfinished. 
The  occasion  was  stripped  of  the  pomp  and  dignity  with 
which  the  Federalists  had  surrounded  such  functions,  and 
Jefferson  walked  from  his  boarding  house  to  the  Capitol, 
instead  of  riding  in  a  coach.  Natural  as  such  an  act  was 
to  him,  it  was  probably  not  without  the  design  of  typify 
ing  the  overthrow  of  what  he  considered  the  aristocratic 
party  and  the  incoming  of  democracy.  Significant  as  is 
the  triumph  of  Jefferson,  however,  his  election  did'  not 
mark  so  much  the  incoming  of  new  principles  as  a  return 
The  return  to  of  those  of  the  Revolution.  The  strong  government  reaction 
printipks'of  °f  tne  Federalist  period  had  accomplished  its  task  of  reestab- 
Ashing  order,  but  had  grown  irksome  to  the  majority  of  the 
people,  who  now  turned  to  the  men  who  had  held  their  con 
fidence  during  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  and  to  younger 
men  of  like  mind.  Jefferson  himself  had  held  office  almost 
continuously,  but  is  remembered  chiefly  for  his  work  during 
the  Revolution  and  as  President.  Many  states,  like  the 
nation,  sought  veterans.  In  the  state  elections  of  1799  and 
1800,  Thomas  McKean  became  governor  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  George  Clinton  of  New  York;  and  later  Republican 
victories  made  John  Langdon  governor  of  New  Hampshire, 

86 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON  87 

and  Elbridge  Gerry  of  Massachusetts.     In  both  houses  of  the 
new  Congress,  the  supporters  of  Jefferson  were  in  the  majority. 

The  leadership  of  the  new  party  in  thought  and  personnel  The  Virginia 
was  Virginian.  The  Virginia  stock  was  now  at  its  prime. 
The  hardships  of  the  early  years  had  weeded  out  the  physi 
cally  weak,  and  the  cavalier  immigration  had  infused  an  ele 
ment  of  high  refinement,  which  served  to  excite  the  emula 
tion  of  the  rest.  At  this  period  the  plantation  system  had 
reached  its  highest  possible  development  in  Virginia.  As  it 
had  stretched  westward  into  the  piedmont,  the  plantations 
had  become  larger,  and  the  need  of  administrative  talent  on 
the  part  of  the  owners  greater.  The  next  generation 
would  be  deflected  by  the  mountains  southward  and  into 
cotton  culture,  but  now  founders  and  administrators  of  the 
greatest  plantations  in  the  country  were  still  living  in 
Virginia,  and  were  moved  to  public  service  by  a  desire  for 
distinction  and  a  sense  of  noblesse  oblige.  Finally,  at  this 
period  the  Virginia  or  kindred  North  Carolina  stock  con 
trolled  Kentucky,  and  also  Ohio,  which  was  to  become  a 
state  in  1803  ;  and  so  Virginia  was  brought  into  close  contact 
with  the  expanding  life  of  the  West. 

Typically  Virginian  was  Thomas  Jefferson.  He  was  Thomas 
democratic  in  his  unwillingness  to  dictate  or  be  dictated  to, 
rather  than  in  an  unquestioned  acceptance  of  the  will  of  the 
majority.  He  hated  form,  abolished  many  of  the  social 
conventions  of  the  Federalist  period,  and  risked  a  war  with 
England  by  taking  the  wrong  lady  in  to  dinner.  Yet  he  built 
the  most  exquisite  mansion  in  America,  and  ruined  himself 
financially  to  maintain  a  lavish  hospitality.  He  would  brook 
no  superior.  Both  his  simplicity  and  his  extravagance 
aroused  the  grave  distrust  of  the  more  formal  and  exact  men 
of  the  North,  and  he  was  thrice  anathema  because  of  his 
freedom  of  expression  on  religious  matters,  in  a  generation 
which  was  not  indeed  very  religious,  but  which  regarded 
orthodox  religion  as  essential  to  the  support  of  authority. 


88  JEFFERSONIAN  DEMOCRACY 

His  dislike  of  form,  perhaps,  prevented  his  becoming  an  ora 
tor,  but  in  conversation  he  was  convincing,  and  he  possessed 
one  of  the  most  persuasive  pens  in  all  America.  He  was 
not  a  good  judge  of  men  and  was  often  found  in  association 
with  those  of  questionable  conduct,  but  he  did  not  cherish 
that  jealousy  of  men  of  talent  which  is  often  an  accompanying 
trait.  He  combined  better  than  any  other  American  states 
man  the  strength  that  comes  from  the  possession  of  a  few 
ineradicable  convictions,  such  as  confidence  in  the  wisdom  of 
mankind  and  the  consequent  supremacy  of  reason,  with  an 
aptitude  for  shifting  his  views  on  nonessential  questions; 
and  so  he  preserved  the  magnetism  of  the  idealist  while 
he  adapted  himself  with  ease  to  the  changing  conditions  of 
a  growing  country.  While  he  was  President,  this  change  was 
chiefly  in  the  direction  of  an  enlarging  view  of  the  functions 
that  the  national  government  might  beneficently  exercise; 
and  in  this  development  he  was  followed  by  his  faithful  col 
laborators:  Madison,  the  new  Secretary  of  State,  and  Albert 
Gallatin,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Republican  Another  group,  enthusiastic  Jeffersonians  in  1800,  clung 

tFveSserva"  to  the  views  of  that  date:  John  Taylor  of  Caroline,  the 
closet  statesman,  author  of  Construction  Construed  and  the 
Constitution  Vindicated;  John  Randolph,  in  1801  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  ways  and  means,  administration  leader 
in  the  House,  and  keenest  master  of  sarcasm  among  Ameri 
can  statesmen;  Nathaniel  Macon,  Speaker  of  the  House 
from  1801  to  1807,  and  guardian  of  pure  government  and 
economy ;  and  James  Monroe,  the  favorite  though  uninspired 
foreign  agent  of  the  administration.  These  men  all  held 
strictly  to  the  principles  with  which  the  government  had 
come  into  power,  while  the  administration  drifted  away. 
In  Jefferson's  second  administration  they  came  to  form  a 
third  party  known  as  the  "Quids,"  which,  however,  was 
but  short-lived. 

IN  ortnern  Ke-  .  ...  . 

publicans.  The  northern  section  of  the  Republican  party  played  at 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY  89 

first  a  decidedly  minor  part  in  determining  party  policy.  In 
New  York  it  was  composed  of  a  union  between  the  factions 
of  the  Clintons,  the  followers  of  Burr,  and  the  old  manorial 
family  of  the  Livingstons.  Interest  was  mainly  centered  in 
the  rivalries  of  these  groups,  and  national  politics  were  sub 
ordinated  to  those  of  the  state.  DeWitt  Clinton  resigned 
a  United  States  senatorship  to  become  mayor  of  New  York. 
Pennsylvania  seemed  to  be  represented  by  Gallatin,  who,  with 
Madison  and  Jefferson,  formed  the  inner  council  of  the  party, 
but  his  views  were  rather  cosmopolitan  than  local,  and  he  was 
in  no  sense  characteristically  Pennsylvanian.  Leaving  him 
aside,  the  Pennsylvanian  democracy  was  not  only  torn  by 
internal  divisions,  like  that  of  New  York,  but  failed  to  produce 
leaders  even  of  any  great  local  influence.  In  New  England 
a  democratic  element  existed,  and  after  a  few  years  of  agi 
tation  and  organization  became  numerically  powerful,  but 
the  bulk  of  the  ability  and  education  remained  with  the  Feder 
alists,  and  it  was  many  years  before  any  New  Englanders  dis 
puted  with  the  Virginians  the  guidance  of  the  Republican  party. 

The  distinguishing  feature  of  the  northern  democracy  was  Party  organi- 
party  organization.  Tammany  Hall  had  been  founded  in  zatlon- 
1789.  In  1793  and  1794  this  club  type  of  party  organization 
received  great  impetus  from  the  success  of  the  Jacobin  clubs 
in  France,  and  Democratic  societies  were  formed  from  Maine 
to  Charleston  and  Kentucky.  These  societies  were  believed 
to  have  been  concerned  with  the  Whisky  Rebellion,  and  Wash 
ington  so  sternly  discountenanced  them  that,  except  in  New 
York,  they  lost  their  influence  and  passed  away.  Even  Tam 
many  Hall  formed  separate  political  and  social  organizations. 
In  the  meantime  there  had  been  developing  the  type  of  organi 
zation  that  was  ultimately  established.  In  New  York,  in  colo 
nial  times,  men  had  put  themselves  forward  for  office  or  had 
been  brought  to  public  notice  by  a  few  friends.  About  the  time 
of  the  Revolution  nominations  were  made  by  mass  meet 
ings  of  those  interested.  Later,  these  mass  meetings  had 


90  JEFFERSONIAN  DEMOCRACY 

degenerated  into  caucuses,  where  a  few  politicians  met, 
often  secretly,  and  made  up  a  "slate"  of  nominations,  which 
was  then  presented  to  the  public  as  the  choice  of  large 
and  enthusiastic  assemblies  of  voters.  In  the  meantime, 
there  had  been  developing  in  Pennsylvania  a  system  which 
applied  to  candidates  for  more  general  offices,  where  those 
interested  could  not  be  expected  to  come  together.  County 
officials  were  nominated  by  conventions  of  representatives, 
and  in  1788  the  first  state  party  convention  was  held.  Such 
conventions  for  the  sole  purpose  of  selecting  party  candidates 
were  too  expensive  in  time  and  money  to  be  held  regularly, 
and  their  place  was  generally  supplied  by  a  legislative  caucus 
of  the  members  of  the  party.  Sometimes  there  was  a 
"reenforced  caucus,"  delegates  being  specially  sent  to  speak 
for  those  districts  which  were  represented  in  the  assembly 
by  members  of  the  opposing  party.  By  controlling  the  local 
"caucuses"  or  "primaries,"  politicians  were  able  to  select  the 
members  of  the  legislature  and  the  delegates,  and  through 
them  to  control  the  party  policy  and  the  selection  of  its  general 
candidates. 

The  spoils  The  management  of  such  party  machinery  had  not  yet 

system.  G     .  i  •  f  •  j       ri  u         r 

become  a  profession  upon  which  any  considerable  number  ot 

persons  depended  for  a  living,  but  not  all  these  politicians 
were  disinterested,  and  most  of  them  wanted  some  payment 
for  their  services.  The  newspaper  editor  wanted  the  state 
printing;  the  wealthy  man  wanted,  perhaps,  a  bank  charter; 
others  looked  to  some  public-salaried  position  as  their  reward. 
It  was  already  felt,  as  Josiah  Quincy  said,  that  party  cohesion 
was  strengthened  by  "interchange  of  good  offices."  In  1799 
McKean  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1800  Clinton  of  New  York, 
marked  their  entry  into  power  by  the  removal  of  many 
Federalists  and  the  appointment  of  Republicans  in  their 
places,  and  many  of  the  most  active  workers  for  Jefferson's 
election  looked  to  the  distribution  of  the  spoils  as  the  most 
important  result  to  come  from  their  success. 


THE  SPOILS   SYSTEM  91 

Jefferson  was  not  opposed  in  principle  to  making  political  Jefferson's 

i      i      ,  i      i       .,     ,    j  ,         i  T         removals  and 

appointments  or  removals,  but  he  hesitated  to  adopt  a  policy  appoint- 
of  proscription,  as  he  hoped  to  win  to  his  support  the  bulk  ments- 
of  the  Federalist  voters,  leaving  their  leaders  helpless.  His 
inaugural  breathed  a  spirit  of  universal  good  will.  "But 
every  difference  of  opinion,"  he  said,  "is  not  a  difference  of 
principle.  We  have  called  by  different  names  brethren  of 
the  same  principle.  We  are  all  Republicans,  we  are  all 
Federalists."  To  satisfy  his  supporters  and  win  his  oppo 
nents  was  a  difficult  task,  but  one  exactly  suited  to  his 
ability  and  temperament.  He  proceeded,  tentatively,  d 
talons  as  he  expressed  it,  beginning  with  cases  where  removal 
might  be  defended  on  some  special  ground  without  an  appeal 
to  general  principles.  He  reinstated  all  who  had  been  removed 
by  Adams;  he  declared  void  certain  so-called  "midnight"  ap 
pointments  made  in  the  last  moments  of  the  Adams  adminis 
tration,  the  commissions  for  which  had  not  been  delivered ; 
he  removed  officers  appointed  by  Adams  after  it  was  known 
that  the  latter  was  defeated  for  reelection  and  that  these 
appointees  would  serve  a  hostile  administration.  In  defense 
of  this  action,  he  wrote  an  ingenious  letter  to  the  merchants 
of  New  Haven  who  had  protested  against  the  removal  of 
their  collector,  —  and  then  he  waited.  No  reaction  followed ; 
the  Federalist  press  raged,  but  the  elections  went  Republican, 
and  Jefferson  proceeded  to  make  removals  generally  upon 
the  principle  that  more  offices  should  be  held  by  Republi 
cans.  As  the  Republicans  gained  one  state  after  another, 
similar  state  proscriptions  marked  their  victories  as  in 
Rhode  Island  in  1810,  and  Massachusetts  in  1811.  Appoint 
ments  were,  on  the  whole,  good,  being  by  no  means  given 
purely  because  of  party  usefulness,  and  those  appointed 
kept  office  while  their  party  was  in  power.  The  principle 
of  rotation  in  office  was  not  yet  established.  Moreover,  the 
practice  of  removal  was  in  large  measure  confined  to  the 
North.  "Some  states,"  said  Jefferson,  "require  a  different 


JEFFERSONIAN  DEMOCRACY 


Democratic 
innovations. 


The  repeal 
of  the  judi 
ciary  act  of 
1801. 


regimen  from  others."  The  adoption  of  a  prescriptive  policy 
did  not,  therefore,  mean  the  introduction  of  a  complete 
spoils  system  into  national  politics.  Moreover,  as  Wash 
ington  had  been  occupied  as  capital  for  only  a  year,  there 
was  no  firmly  rooted  official  class  whose  distresses  could 
stir  the  popular  imagination,  as  when  Jackson  took  similar 
action  at  a  later  time.  The  proscription  of  Jefferson,  there 
fore,  effected  no  great  change  in  the  character  of  the  civil 
service,  and  was  soon  forgotten. 

While  the  personnel  of  the  government  was  being  changed, 
the  general  aspect  of  official  life  was  assuming  a  simpler  and 
more  democratic  tone.  Jefferson  discarded  the  official  rules 
of  etiquette  which  Hamilton  had  drawn  up.  He  lived  simply, 
though  somewhat  lavishly,  as  he  did  at  home.  The  Feder 
alist  practice  of  having  the  two  houses  of  Congress  send  the 
President  formal  addresses  at  their  coming  together,  and  of 
his  replying,  —  a  practice  drawn  from  the  custom  of  the 
British  Parliament,  —  was  done  away  with.  On  the  other 
hand  Congress  sought  to  draw  closer  to  the  people.  The 
House  of  Representatives  granted  better  opportunities  for 
reporters,  and  the  Senate,  against  the  unanimous  vote  of 
its  Federalist  members,  provided  itself  with  a  stenographer 
to  take  down  its  debates. 

The  regular  program  of  the  party  was  destructive,  and 
few  administrations  have  so  thoroughly  carried  out  the  work 
they  were  elected  to  accomplish.  One  of  the  earliest  meas 
ures  was  the  repeal  of  the  judiciary  act  of  1801,  which  was 
regarded  as  creating  an  unnecessarily  expensive  system. 
Additional  venom  was  given  to  the  attack  upon  this  law 
because  Adams  had  made  it  a  means  of  providing  positions 
for  Federalist  congressmen  who  had  been  defeated  for 
reelection.  John  Randolph  wished  "to  give  a  death-blow 
to  the  pretension  of  rendering  the  judiciary  a  hospital 
for  decayed  politicians."  The  repeal  was  made,  in  spite  of 
the  question  raised  as  to  the  constitutional  power  of  Congress 


REPUBLICAN  REACTIONARY  PROGRAM  93 

thus  to  deprive  of  their  offices  men  appointed  to  hold  office 
during  good  behavior. 

The  repeal  of  this  act  was  one  move  in  a  general  attack  on  The  attack 
the  judiciary,  the  only  department  of  government  in  which  °Fary?3U 
the  Federalists  remained  intrenched.  It  availed,  however, 
comparatively  little  to  reduce  the  number  of  judges  if  those 
that  remained  were  still  Federalists;  and  partly  with  the 
object  of  gaining  control  of  the  bench  by  displacing  Feder 
alist  judges  and  putting  Republicans  in  their  places,  a 
number  of  impeachments  were  brought.  The  first,  against 
Mr.  Pickering,  a  district  judge,  was  successful ;  but  in  the 
next  case,  that  of  Samuel  Chase,  a  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  accused  of  undue  political  activity,  the  Senate  failed 
to  find  him  guilty,  taking  the  position  that  impeachment  was 
judicial  in  its  nature  as  well  as  in  its  processes,  and  convic 
tion  should  be  based  on  some  definite  judicial  offense  and 
not  on  general  grounds.  This  failure  led  to  the  abandonment 
of  the  attempt  to  weed  out  the  judiciary.  It  was  a  plan 
discountenanced  by  the  more  moderate  of  the  Republicans. 
In  Pennsylvania,  a  similar  effort  to  control  the  judiciary 
met  with  a  similar  result.  Stung  by  these  defeats,  Ran 
dolph  and  others  of  the  more  radical  among  the  Repub 
licans  proposed  that  judges  be  removable  by  a  joint 
resolution  of  the  houses  of  Congress,  and  that  state 
legislatures  have  the  right  to  recall  their  senators.  These 
proposals,  however,  met  with  small  response,  and  although 
an  additional  judge  was  added  to  the  Supreme  Court 
in  1807,  it  was  not  until  1811  that  a  majorit}'  owed  their 
selection  to  a  Republican  President,  and  even  then  Marshall 
continued  to  dominate  the  court  by  his  reasoning  and  his 
powerful  personality. 

In  the  field  of  legislation  there  were  no  obstacles,  and  Repeal  of 
progress  was  rapid.     The  excise  law  fell  at  once,  as  GaUatin 
sympathized  with  the  frontier  whisky  makers,  of  whom  he 
had  been  in  1794  a  leader,  and  Jefferson  disliked  the  for- 


94  JEFFERSONIAN  DEMOCRACY 

midable  corps  of  officials  which  its  enforcement  required. 
The  bankruptcy  act  was  easily  repealed.  The  residence 
requirement  for  naturalization  was  again  reduced  to  five 
years,  while  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Acts  expired  by  limi 
tation.  The  Bank,  having  a  charter  for  twenty  years,  could 
not  be  overthrown  during  Jefferson's  administration,  but 
when  in  1811  its  charter  expired,  it  was  forced  to  go  out  of 
existence. 

The  pursuit  Still  in  the  pursuit  of  simplicity,  the  diplomatic  service 
of  simplicity.  was  curtailed,  and  tne  standing  army  reduced.  "  For  defense 
against  invasion,"  said  Jefferson  of  the  latter,  "their  number 
is  as  nothing.  .  .  .  Uncertain  as  we  must  ever  be  of  the 
particular  point  in  our  circumference  where  an  enemy  may 
choose  to  invade  us,  the  only  force  which  can  be  ready  at 
every  point  and  competent  to  oppose  them  is  the  body  of 
neighboring  citizens  as  formed  into  a  militia."  In  the  same 
way,  the  regular  navy  was  reduced  by  laying  up  many  of 
the  frigates,  while  a  multitude  of  small  gunboats  were 
built,  which  might  be  manned  by  naval  militia  and  act  as 
a  coast  guard  in  time  of  war. 

Financial  ad-  Upon  Gallatin,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  lay  the 
ministration.  ^ur(jen  of  proving  that  a  simple  government  could  be  also 
efficient,  and  it  was  hoped  that  he  might  do  something  to 
remove  that  last  remaining  instrument  of  Hamiltonian 
consolidation,  the  national  debt.  In  pursuit  of  these  aims 
Gallatin  showed  great  skill  and  was  assisted  by  great  good 
luck.  In  the  first  place,  he  brought  the  finances  more  closely 
under  the  control  of  Congress,  by  securing  the  adoption  of 
the  system  of  specific  appropriation,  in  the  place  of  the 
general  appropriation  of  lump  sums  for  civil  service,  war, 
and  so  forth,  that  it  had  previously  been  customary  to  make. 
Expenses  he  pared  down,  with  almost  too  severe  an  economy. 
At  the  same  time  the  increase  of  the  customs  revenue  was 
unparalleled.  Sir  William  Scott,  the  English  admiralty 
judge,  decided  in  1799,  in  the  cases  of  the  Emmanuel  and  the 


RELATIONS   WITH  FRANCE  95 

Polly,  that  American  vessels  might  carry  on  the  trade  be 
tween  France  and  her  colonies,  if  the  goods  were  first  brought 
to  the  United  States  and  paid  duty.  The  result  was  that  in 
some  years  during  the  Napoleonic  wars  sixty  million  dollars' 
worth  of  products  of  the  West  Indies  paid  duty  in  American 
ports.  The  revenue  advanced,  surpluses  piled  up,  and  when 
Jefferson  retired  in  1809,  $33,000,000  of  debt,  all  that  had 
matured  and  was  payable,  had  been  wiped  out. 

When  Jefferson  became  President,  the  war  in  Europe  was  New  dangers 
drawing  to  a  close,  but  the  peace  bid  fair  to  be  more  danger-  from  France- 
ous  than  the  war.  Napoleon,  now  in  control  of  France, 
found  in  the  colonial  policies  of  his  predecessors  an  outlet  for 
his  tremendous  energies.  His  foreign  minister  and  leading 
supporter,  Talleyrand,  was  well  acquainted  with  American 
affairs  and  urged  them  upon  his  attention.  On  Septem 
ber  30,  1800,  the  peace  with  the  United  States  removed  one 
obstacle  to  the  enterprise ;  the  next  day  the  secret  treaty  of 
San  Ildefonso,  by  which  Spain  ceded  Louisiana  to  France, 
gave  the  field  for  exploitation;  October  i,  1801,  prelimi 
nary  articles  with  Great  Britain  were  signed,  and  in  March, 
1802,  the  treaty  of  Amiens  established  peace  with  that 
country  and  opened  the  ocean  to  French  exploits.  Before 
France  actually  took  possession  of  New  Orleans,  and  while 
the  treaty  of  cession  was  still  in  fact  a  secret,  the  right  of 
deposit  at  that  place  accorded  Americans  by  the  treaty  of 
1795  was  withdrawn.  Nor  was  another  place  of  deposit 
designated  as  the  treaty  required.  Thus,  when  the  French 
should  occupy  Louisiana,  they  would  have  all  the  strings  of 
western  intrigue  in  their  hands,  and  the  future  of  the  Missis 
sippi  valley  might  be  at  their  disposition. 

The  news  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  right  of  deposit,  coupled  Jefferson's^ 
with   well-authenticated   information   regarding    the   secret  p0iiScySS1P 
treaty  of  cession,  created  a  panic  in  public  circles  at  Washing 
ton.     Every  one  realized  what  it  would  mean  to  have  France 
as  a  neighbor,  instead  of  decrepit  Spain,  one  of  whose  heirs 


96  JEFFERSONIAN  DEMOCRACY 

we  had  intended  to  become.  Just  what  Napoleon's  next 
step  would  be  was  unknown  at  the  time,  and  cannot  be 
stated  with  certainty  even  to-day.  It  was  sufficiently  evi 
dent,  however,  that  he  would  strive  to  reestablish  the  French 
colonial  empire  in  America  on  the  broadest  scale,  and  that 
his  plans  would  necessarily  conflict  with  the  aspirations  of 
far-seeing  Americans.  The  struggle  for  the  Mississippi  valley, 
which  had  seemed  won  by  the  peace  of  1763,  appeared  now 
to  be  on  the  point  of  reopening,  under  very  different  condi 
tions:  in  the  earlier  period  the  conflict  was  for  the  oppor 
tunity  to  expand  over  an  unoccupied  territory,  but  now  the 
territory  was  occupied  by  tens  of  thousands  of  Americans 
whose  livelihood  would  be  dependent  upon  the  French, 
since  the  latter  might,  by  keeping  the  Mississippi  closed, 
cut  them  off  from  all  commercial  intercourse  with  the 
outside  world.  The  Federalists  lamented  the  peace  with 
France,  and  again  urged  war.  Jefferson  saw  clearly 
the  peril  of  the  times,  but  he  had  confidence  in  the  reason 
ableness  of  the  French  government.  He  wrote  on  April 
18,  1802:  "The  day  that  France  takes  possession  of  New 
Orleans  fixes  the  sentence  which  is  to  restrain  her  forever 
within  her  low-water  mark.  It  seals  the  union  of  two 
nations,  which  in  conjunction  can  maintain  exclusive  posses 
sion  of  the  ocean.  From  that  moment  we  must  marry  our 
selves  to  the  British  fleet  and  nation."  He  talked  peace, 
and  he  sent  Monroe,  as  special  commissioner  to  France, 
instructed  to  buy  New  Orleans.  If  France  would  not  sell, 
or  grant  us  full  navigation  rights  on  the  Mississippi,  we 
would  delay  until  the  next  war  between  France  and  England, 
and  then  ally  ourselves  with  the  latter.  Meantime  he 
extended  courtesies  to  the  English  minister. 

Jefferson's  policy  would  have  been  perfect  if,  in  addition 
to  what  he  did  and  did  not  do,  he  had  also  prepared  for  the 
emergency  of  war  ;  but  it  was  neither  to  his  skill  nor  to  the 
efforts  of  Monroe  that  success  was  due.  The  key  to  the 


PURCHASE  OF  LOUISIANA  97 

French  plan  was  the  island  of  Santo  Domingo,  perhaps  at 
that  time  the  richest  colony  in  the  world.  The  negroes  on 
the  island  had  revolted,  and  Napoleon's  first  work  was  to 
reduce  them.  On  January  7,  1803,  news  reached  Paris  that 
the  expedition  intended  to  accomplish  the  reduction  had 
been  virtually  destroyed.  At  once  Napoleon  dropped  his 
whole  project  and  devoted  himself  to  European  affairs.  He 
threw  over  Talleyrand;  he  prepared  for  war  with  England 
and  Austria;  and  he  decided  to  sell,  not  New  Orleans  alone, 
but  all  Louisiana,  to  the  United  States  in  order  to  prevent 
its  falling  into  the  hands  of  England,  to  replenish  his 
coffers,  and  to  secure  the  effective  gratitude  of  this  country.  Purchase  oi 
The  offer  was  made  to  Robert  R.  Livingston,  our  regular  Lou: 
minister,  before  Monroe  arrived,  and  the  bargain  was  con 
cluded  April  30,  1803,  for  $15,000,000,  $3,750,000  of  which 
was  to  be  paid  our  own  citizens  for  claims  against  the  French 
government. 

The  treaty  was  received  in  America  with  astonishment,  Constitu- 
and  not  with  unmingled  pleasure.  Jefferson  realized  its  £oversies°n 
value,  perhaps  more  clearly  than  any  one  else,  but  it  conflicted 
with  his  idea  of  strict  construction,  as  the  Constitution 
nowhere  explicitly  gave  the  right  to  annex  territory.  It 
was,  however,  so  easy  to  imply  such  a  right  from  the  treaty- 
making  power,  that  his  followers  swept  aside  even  his  sugges 
tion  of  a  constitutional  amendment  to  legalize  the  treaty, 
and  thus  they  started  on  the  broad  path  that  was  to  lead 
them  to  stretch  the  Constitution  almost  as  much  as  the 
Federalists  had  done. 

The  Federalists  could  not  object  to  the  treaty  on  this 
ground,  but  based  their  opposition  on  the  clause  providing 
that  "The  inhabitants  of  the  ceded  territory  shall  be  incor 
porated  in  the  Union  of  the  United  States,  and  admitted 
as  soon  as  possible,  according  to  the  principles  of  the  Fed 
eral  Constitution,  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  rights,  advan 
tages,  and  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States." 


98  JEFFERSONIAN   DEMOCRACY 

This  clause  obviously  implied  the  admission  of  the  new 
territory  into  the  Union  as  a  state  or  states.  Foreseeing  the 
diminished  consequence  of  the  eastern  states,  if  this  great 
addition  were  made  to  the  southern  and  western  sections, 
many  Federalists  contended  that  we  could  acquire  territory  to 
govern  as  a  colony,  but  that  to  enlarge  the  Union,  to  admit 
new  states,  was  to  change  the  character  of  the  government, 
and  required  the  consent  of  all  or  at  least  three  quarters  of 
the  states.  Defeated  in  Congress,  some  Federalists,  such 
as  Pickering,  discussed  the  advisability  of  secession  by  the 
New  England  states.  George  Cabot  urged  patience : 
"We  shall  go  the  way  of  all  governments  wholly  popular, 
from  bad  to  worse,  until  the  evils,  no  longer  tolerable,  shall 
generate  their  own  remedies."  The  Republicans  were 
forced  to  maintain  the  implied  power  to  add  to  the  Union 
as  well  as  to  annex  territory. 

Territorial  The  question  of  the  government  of  the  newly  acquired 

territory  was  not  without  difficulties,  as  the  population  was 
very  largely  alien  in  law  and  language.  It  was  found  in 
convenient  to  apply  to  it  at  once  all  the  rights  and  privi 
leges  customary  in  the  other  territories,  and  the  first  terri 
torial  act  was,  therefore,  based  on  the  idea  that  Congress  has 
absolute  power  over  the  territories,  unrestricted  by  the  guar 
antees  of  individual  rights  contained  in  the  amendments  to 
the  Constitution.  George  W.  Campbell  said:  "It  really 
establishes  a  complete  despotism ;  it  does  not  evince  a  single 
trait  of  liberty."  This  act,  passed  in  1804,  divided  the 
region  by  the  parallel  of  33° ;  the  Territory  of  Orleans  lying 
to  the  south,  the  District  of  Louisiana  to  the  north.  In 
1805  the  latter  division  was  made  a  territory,  and  both  sec 
tions  were  given  governments  modeled  on  that  laid  down  in  the 
Northwestern  Ordinance.  The  constitutional  importance  of  the 
Louisiana  purchase  controversies,  in  committing  the  Repub 
licans,  the  party  of  strict  construction,  to  such  decided, 
principles  of  broad  construction,  cannot  be  overestimated. 


JEFFERSON'S   INTERNAL  POLICY  99 

The  annexation  of  Louisiana  settled  at  once  and  finally 
the  allegiance  of  the  West  to  the  Union.  The  government 
which  could  secure  an  outlet  for  their  products  deserved  and 
received  the  full  support  of  the  western  settlers.  The  work 
partly  accomplished  by  the  Spanish  treaty  of  1795  was  now 
complete.  Jefferson  aimed  also,  though  less  successfully,  Indian  policy = 
at  the  solution  of  the  Indian  problem.  He  hoped  by  civi 
lizing  them  to  attach  them  to  the  whites,  abolish  war,  and 
do  away  with  the  need  of  extensive  hunting  grounds.  He 
continually  extended  the  purchases  of  Indian  land  in  Georgia, 
in  Tennessee,  and  all  along  the  northern  bank  of  the  Ohio, 
and  up  the  Mississippi  and  the  Wabash. 

At  the  same  time,  Jefferson's  insatiate  scientific  curiosity  Exploration, 
made  it  a  pleasant  public  duty  for  him  to  direct  the  ex 
ploration  of  the  new  territory  to  the  west.  In  1785,  when 
minister  to  France,  he  had  conversed  with  and  encouraged 
John  Ledyard,  who  was  endeavoring  to  establish  American 
possession  and  trade  on  the  northwest  coast  of  the  continent. 
He  never  lost  interest  in  the  project,  and  he  firmly  believed 
that  American  civilization  would  reach  across  to  the  Pacific. 
The  most  important  of  Jefferson's  exploring  expeditions  was, 
in  fact,  organized  before  the  purchase.  Led  by  the  Presi 
dent's  private  secretary,  Meriwether  Lewis,  and  by  William 
Clark,  it  ascended  the  Missouri  in  1804,  and  wintered  in 
what  is  now  North  Dakota  ;  the  next  summer  it  crossed  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  wintered  near  the  Pacific  coast. 
Returning  in  1806,  it  brought  back  masses  of  invaluable 
information,  which,  popularized  by  Nicholas  Biddle,  made 
Louisiana  known  to  the  people.  Other  expeditions  under 
Zebulon  Pike  during  1805-1807  explored  the  upper  Mississippi, 
and  also  the  region  as  far  westward  as  Pikes  Peak,  and  far 
enough  to  the  southward  to  get  into  trouble  with  the  Spaniards. 

The  reelection  of  Jefferson  caused  scarcely  a  ripple  of  Thereelec- 
excitement,   so  content  and  prosperous  was  the  country.   ^n  °  ^e 
The  Twelfth  Amendment  had  now  been  adopted,  requiring 


100 


JEFFERSONIAN  DEMOCRACY 


The  Hamil 
ton-Burr 
duel,  and 
Burr's  fall. 


Jefferson's 
plans  for  an 
extension  of 
national  ac 
tivities. 


each  elector  to  cast  one  vote  for  President  and  one  for  Vice 
President,  preventing  such  a  deadlock  as  that  of  1800.  The 
growth  of  democratic  feeling  was  evinced  by  the  fact  that 
ten  states  out  of  seventeen  chose  their  electors  by  popular 
vote.  The  Republican  caucus  dropped  Burr,  and  nomi 
nated  George  Clinton  for  Vice  President.  The  Federalists 
supported  C.  C.  Pinckney  and  Rufus  King,  but  secured  for 
them  only  14  electoral  votes  to  162  for  Jefferson,  carrying 
only  Connecticut,  Delaware,  and  two  districts  in  Maryland. 

Jefferson  had  almost  succeeded  in  his  object  of  winning 
the  Federalist  voters  from  their  leaders,  and  the  same  year 
saw  the  disappearance  of  his  two  most  conspicuous  rivals. 
Burr,  his  ambition  thwarted  in  the  Republican  party,  ran 
for  governor  of  New  York,  counting  on  Federalist  support. 
Hamilton  opposed  him,  and  he  was  defeated ;  whereupon  he 
challenged  Hamilton,  shot,  and  killed  him.  The  profound 
and  generous  grief  for  the  loss  of  Hamilton,  whose  high  ability 
and  character  were  now  almost  universally  admitted,  and  the 
circumstances  of  the  duel,  ended  Burr's  hope  of  political 
advancement  through  the  ordinary  channels.  He  turned  to 
the  West,  thinking,  with  his  address  and  skill,  to  weave  some 
great  project  from  the  maze  of  frontier  intrigue,  but  he  was 
too  late.  The  securing  of  the  Mississippi  valley  had  con 
tented  the  frontiersmen,  and  Burr's  plans,  whatever  they 
may  have  been,  fell  flat.  He  was  arrested  and  tried  for 
treason,  and  while  acquitted,  found  public  sentiment  so 
strongly  turned  against  him  that  he  left  the  country  for 
many  years. 

Secure  in  his  power,  Jefferson  began  to  take  a  more  genial 
view  of  government.  His  fertile  mind  saw  so  many  ways  in 
which  he  could  benefit  the  country  that  he  began  to  chafe 
under  the  restrictions  which  his  strict  view  of  the  Constitu 
tion  put  upon  him.  In  his  second  inaugural  he  looked  for 
ward  to  the  time  when  the  debt  should  be  paid,  "and  that 
redemption  once  effected,  the  revenue  thereby  liberated 


REPUBLICAN  FACTIONS' 


101 


may,  by  a  just  repartition  of  it  among  the  states  and  a 
corresponding  amendment  of  the  Constitution,  be  applied 
in  time  of  peace  to  rivers,  canals,  roads,  arts,  manufactures, 
education,  and  other  great  objects  within  each  of  the  states." 
By  the  time  he  wrote  his  sixth  annual  message  he  was  sure 
that  the  people  would  find  no  advantage  in  a  reduction  of 
the  tariff,  but  would  prefer  the  application  of  the  surplus 
"to  the  great  purposes  of  the  public  education,  roads,  rivers, 
canals,  and  such  other  objects  of  public  improvement  as  it 
may  be  thought  proper  to  add  to  the  constitutional  enumera 
tion  of  Federal  powers.  By  their  operations  new  channels 
of  communication  will  be  opened  between  the  states,  the 
lines  of  separation  will  disappear,  their  interests  will  be 
identified,  and  their  union  cemented  by  new  and  indissoluble 
ties."  Gallatin  made  a  careful  report  on  practicable  internal 
improvements,  and  Congress  appropriated  money  for  a 
survey  of  the  coast,  and  of  a  national  road  to  run  from  Cum 
berland,  Maryland,  westward,  connecting  Washington  with 
the  Ohio ;  but  it  preferred  to  find  its  power  by  implication, 
rather  than  by  amendment  to  the  Constitution  as  Jefferson 
proposed. 

This  movement  of  the  administration  toward  centraliza-  Republican 
tion  led  to  a  breach  in  the  Republican  party.  The  main  factlons- 
issue  was  as  to  whether  Jefferson's  successor  should  be  the 
ever  faithful  Madison,  or  Monroe,  whose  views  were  less 
elastic.  John  Randolph,  however,  at  the  head  of  the  "  Quids," 
carried  the  campaign  into  many  matters  and  harassed 
the  administration  on  every  side.  Particularly  bitter  was  his 
attack  on  Gallatin  who  had  proposed  —  as  part  of  the 
agreement  by  which  Georgia  in  1802  ceded  to  the  national 
government  her  claims  to  all  territory  west  of  what  is  now 
her  western  boundary  —  to  reimburse  the  Yazoo  claim 
ants  for  their  losses  caused  by  the  revocation  of  grants 
they  had  corruptly  obtained  from  the  Georgia  legislature. 
This  plan  he  defeated ,  although  the  proposition  was  re- 


102 


TEFFERSONIAN  DEMOCRACY 


The  Barbary 
wars. 


England's 
policy  to 
ward  neu 
tral  trade. 


peatedly  renewed,  and  although  in  1811  the  Supreme  Courtr 
in  the  case  of  Fletcher  v.  Peck,  declared  that  the  original 
contract  was  binding.  An  appropriation  to  pay  the  claim 
was  secured  only  in  1814,  when  Randolph  was  not  in  Congress. 
On  the  whole,  however,  the  honors  of  war  were  with  the 
administration,  for  Randolph's  friend  Macon  was  defeated 
for  the  speakership  in  1807,  and  as  a  consequence  Randolph 
lost  the  chairmanship  of  the  committee  on  ways  and  means. 

It  was  in  the  field  of  foreign  affairs  that  Jefferson  en 
countered  his  chief  difficulties.  Peace  was  his  passion,  but 
in  one  instance  he  overcame  his  repugnance  to  war.  The 
utter  barbarity  and  unreasonableness  of  the  Barbary  pirate 
states  had  always  disgusted  him,  and  even  during  the  Con 
federation  he  had  opposed  the  policy  of  placating  them  with 
bribes  in  order  to  open  up  the  Mediterranean  to  our  trade. 
Now,  as  President,  he  made  war  on  Tripoli,  and  in  1805 
secured  a  peace  without  payment,  meanwhile  saving  the 
navy  from  the  extinction  to  which  the  policy  of  economy 
seemed  destined  to  condemn  it.  An  American  squadron  re 
mained  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  that  sea  continued  open 
to  American  merchant  vessels  until  the  war  of  1812. 

The  foreign  questions  of  greatest  difficulty,  however, 
arose  from  the  renewal  of  the  war  in  Europe,  and  the  neces 
sity  of  protecting  our  trade  as  a  neutral  nation.  The  battle 
of  Trafalgar  in  1805  gave  England  a  naval  supremacy  that 
she  had  not  had  in  the  previous  war,  and  with  this  renewed 
power  to  enforce  her  demands,  she  revived  the  practices  to 
which  we  had  then  objected.  The  British  mercantile  interests, 
jealous  of  the  prosperity  of  the  American  marine,  called  for 
action,  and  in  1805,  in  the  case  of  the  Essex,  Sir  William 
Scott  reversed  his  previous  decision  in  the  case  of  the  Polly, 
and  declared  liable  to  seizure  French  colonial  products,  even 
though  landed  and  paying  duty  in  American  ports,  unless  it 
could  be  shown  that  they  had  actually  become  the  property 
of  American  merchants,  and  that  the  intention  was  to  keep 


RELATIONS   WITH  ENGLAND  103 

them  in  America.  In  1807  the  protective  clauses  of  the  Jay 
treaty  expired,  and  the  substitute  treaty  which  William 
Pinkney,  as  special  commissioner,  and  Monroe,  the  regular 
minister  in  England,  secured,  was  so  unsatisfactory  that 
Jefferson  refused  to  present  it  to  the  Senate.  England  was, 
therefore,  left  free  to  adopt  such  policy  as  pleased  her,  and 
her  program  for  the  regulation  and  control  of  the  trade  of 
neutrals  was  made  continuously  more  complete.  In  May, 
1806,  the  coast  of  Europe  from  Ostend  to  Brest  was  declared 
blockaded  by  England,  and  the  British  Orders  in  Council 
of  January  7,  1807,  and  November  n,  1807,  had  the  effect 
of  extending  this  blockade  to  every  port  of  Europe  from 
which  the  British  flag  was  excluded.  England  declared  that 
this  policy  was  retaliatory,  her  Orders  being  in  answer  to 
Napoleon's  Decrees,  which  will  be  subsequently  mentioned. 
Napoleon  stated  that  his  first  Decree  was  in  answer  to 
the  Brest  blockade.  To  neutrals  the  question  of  which  bel 
ligerent  was  primarily  at  fault  was  of  small  moment  compared 
with  the  practical  fact  that  neutral  trade  was  hampered  and 
vexed. 

The  manner  in  which  the  officers  of  the  British  navy  Blockade  of 
actually  exercised  these  so-called  belligerent  rights  was  not  New  York- 
less  obnoxious  than  the  claims  themselves.  It  was  found 
more  convenient  to  blockade  the  American  coast  than 
that  of  Europe ;  and  two  frigates  were  therefore  stationed 
off  New  York  to  examine  the  papers  of  vessels  leaving  port, 
and  if  their  destination  or  cargoes  appeared  contrary  to  the 
Orders,  they  were  sent  to  Halifax  for  judgment  by  the 
admiralty  court  there.  In  performing  this  police  duty,  in 
1806,  the  English  accidentally  shot  and  killed  an  American 
sailor,  John  Pierce. 

Still  more  troublesome  was  the  matter  of  impressment,  impress- 
The  increase  of  American  trade,  which,  adjusting  itself  to 
conditions,  continued  to  grow  until  1808,  called  every  year 
for  four  thousand  new  sailors,  and  high  wages  and  good 


IO4 


JEFFERSONIAN  DEMOCRACY 


French  pol 
icy  toward 
neutral 
trade. 


treatment  induced  many  to  desert  the  English  service,  both 
public  and  private,  for  the  American.  This  whetted  the 
zeal  of  English  naval  officers  in  making  impressments.  It 
was  estimated  that  2500  sailors  deserted  the  British  marine, 
public  and  private,  every  year,  and  that  impressments 
amounted  to  1000  a  year.  This  difficulty  culminated  when, 
on  June  22,  1807,  the  Leopard  fired  on,  stopped,  and 
took  men  from  the  United  States  frigate  Chesapeake.  Such 
an  insult  was  even  more  distressing  than  the  impress 
ment  of  men  from  private  merchant  vessels.  England, 
indeed,  did  not  venture  to  defend  the  act,  but  made  diffi 
culties  about  the  form  of  apology,  and  a  call  to  war  swept 
over  the  country  as  it  had  in  1794,  when  England  was 
reported  to  have  unleashed  the  Algerian  pirates. 

The  policy  of  France  was  as  disastrous  to  neutrals  as  that 
of  England.  After  Trafalgar,  Napoleon  despaired  of  reach 
ing  England  directly,  and  saw  that  he  could  conquer  her  only 
by  cutting  off  her  trade,  the  source  of  her  wealth.  He  planned 
to  close  the  continent  to  English  goods,  and  until  his  fall 
this  was  the  predominant  idea  in  his  wars  and  alliances.  He 
professed  to  be  the  champion  of  the  freedom  of  the  seas,  but 
his  policy  took  the  form  of  declaring  England  beyond  the  range 
of  law,  and  of  stamping  as  English  allies  all  neutrals  who 
did  not  maintain  their  rights  against  her.  On  November  21, 
1806,  he  issued  the  Berlin  Decree,  declaring  the  British  Isles 
in  a  state  of  blockade.  As  the  French  had  no  men-of-war, 
but  only  privateers  at  sea,  this  decree  would  not  materially 
affect  neutral  vessels  on  their  way  to  England,  but  any  vessel 
coming  from  the  ports  of  England  could  be  seized  on  enter 
ing  a  French  port.  On  December  7,  1807,  he  followed  this 
with  the  Milan  Decree,  which  declared  any  vessel  that  should 
submit  to  be  searched  by  an  English  vessel,  or  should  enter 
a  port  of  England  or  her  colonies,  denationalized  and  liable 
to  capture. 

With  the  two  belligerents  equally  maltreating  us,  it  was 


THE  EMBARGO  105 

difficult  indeed  to  formulate  a  policy  for  the  United  States.  Jefferson's 

One  party,  after  the  Chesapeake  affair,  clamored  for  war  with  commercial 

England.    The  majority  of  the  Federalists  would  have  pre-  coercion- 

ferred  war  with  France.     Jefferson  would  war  with  neither, 

but  would  bring  both  to  reason  by  arguments  addressed  to 

their  self-interest.     In  his  youth  he  had  been  much  impressed 

with  the  efficacy  of  the  nonimportation  agreements  directed 

against  England.     As  Secretary  of  State  he  had  submitted 

a  report  to  Congress,  advising  that  we  coerce  foreign  nations 

into  a  liberal  policy  toward  us  by  commercial  discrimination. 

He  argued  that  we  exported  things  absolutely  necessary  to 

foreign  nations,  such  as  food  and  raw  materials;    that  we 

received    luxuries  and  things   that  we  could  do  without; 

and  that,  therefore,  our  trade  was  more  important  to  them 

than  theirs  to  us. 

He  first  directed  this  policy  against  England,  and  had  Nonimpor- 
introduced  into  Congress  a  nonimportation  bill,  excluding  embargo, 
such  British  goods  as  could  be  replaced  by  goods  from  other 
nations  or  could  be  produced  at  home.  This  was  passed 
in  March,  1806,  to  go  into  effect  on  November  15,  if  England 
did  not  come  to  terms  before  that  date.  It  was  subsequently 
suspended  and  went  into  operation  only  on  December  14, 
1807.  It  was  intended  as  a  threat  only,  not  to  be  enforced. 
"What  is  it?"  said  Randolph,  "a  milk  and  water  Bill !  A 
dose  of  chicken  broth  to  be  taken  nine  months  hence." 
Eight  days  after  the  nonimportation  act  went  into  effect, 
it  was  replaced  by  the  more  vigorous  measure  of  an  embargo, 
utterly  prohibiting  all  foreign  intercourse  and  requiring 
coasting  vessels  to  give  bond  to  go  only  to  domestic  ports. 
While  the  embargo  was  nominally  directed  equally  against 
France  and  England,  it  was  really  upon  the  latter  country 
that  it  fell  hardest.  It  was,  in  fact,  an  extension  of  Napo 
leon's  continental  system  of  exhausting  England  by  depriv 
ing  her  of  her  markets.  So  true  was  this,  that  one  of  the 
French  ministers  said,  "The  Emperor  applauds  the  em- 


106  JEFFERSONIAN  DEMOCRACY 

bargo,"  and  many  Federalists  believed  that  it  was  dictated 
by  Jefferson's  French  sympathies.  This  charge  was  unjust, 
for  the  embargo  was,  in  fact,  a  particular  hobby  of  Jefferson's, 
who  believed  that  he  had  discovered  in  it  a  substitute  for 
war. 

The  effects  Like  war,  the  embargo  was  not  one-sided.  It  substi- 

6  a  tuted  a  test  of  passive  endurance  for  one  of  active  conflict. 
England,  indeed,  suffered  severely,  but  the  government 
remained  firm,  its  aristocratic  structure  enabling  it  to  resist 
popular  discontent.  In  the  United  States  the  embargo  was 
a  greater  blow  to  the  mercantile  interests  than  any  measure 
yet  taken  by  the  belligerents,  or  than  war  itself  would  have 
been.  Some  of  the  Federalist  leaders  again  talked  of  a  seces 
sion  of  the  states  of  New  England,  and  in  practice  the  act 
was  very  generally  evaded  by  smuggling.  Smuggling  led  to 
the  passage  of  various  enforcement  acts  of  great  rigor. 
These,  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts  declared,  February 
15,  1809,  "in  many  respects  unjust,  oppressive,  and  uncon 
stitutional,  and  not  legally  binding  on  the  citizens  of  this 
state."  It,  however,  counseled  obedience  and  remonstrance 
to  Congress. 

Repeal  of  In  the  meantime,  the  embargo  was  proving  even  more 

disastrous  to  the  agricultural  interests  and  particularly  to 
the  planters,  who  could  not  dispose  of  their  crops,  although 
they  had  to  continue  to  support  their  slaves.  The  Federal 
ists,  led  in  the  House  of  Representatives  by  Josiah  Quincy 
of  Massachusetts,  were  joined  by  dissatisfied  Republicans 
like  Joseph  Story  and  John  Randolph,  and  the  embargo  was 
brought  to  an  end  March  i,  1809.  Thus,  three  days  before 
his  retirement,  Jefferson  was  forced  to  see  the  failure  of  his 
favorite  experiment  in  international  relations,  and  to  sub 
mit  to  almost  his  only  defeat  from  Congress,  which,  most 
largely  through  the  democratic  weapon  of  argument,  he 
had  ruled  more  completely  than  any  President  before  or 
after. 


f  O 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  107 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

Every  student  should  read  Jefferson's  inaugural,  Richardson's  Sources. 
Messages,  I,  321-324.  The  Writings  of  Jefferson  and  the  Works 
of  Gallatin  are  generally  interesting  and  useful.  If  available, 
An  Inquiry  into  the  Principles  and  Policy  of  Government  in  the 
United  States,  by  John  Taylor  (of  Caroline),  530-571,  gives  a  clear 
view  of  Virginia  constitutional  theories. 

Adams,  H.,  Administrations  of  Jefferson  and  Madison,  I,  chs.  Historical 
V-VII,  is  the  best  account  of  the  inteUectual  condition  of  the 
country  for  the  period.  In  general,  however,  and  particularly  for 
narrative,  this  invaluable  work  is  not  usable  for  class  work, 
as  it  is  long  and  is  too  well  knit  to  break  up  easily  into  selec 
tions.  Channing,  E.,  The  Jejjersonian  System,  is  distinctly 
workable.  See  also  Trent,  Southern  Statesmen  of  the  Old  Regime. 

Fish,  C.  R.,  Civil  Service,  chs.  II  and  III.  Civil  service. 

Allen,  G.  W.,  The  Barbary  Wars. 

Adams,  H.,  Randolph,  ch.  IV.  Cox,  I.  J.,  Exploration  of 
Louisiana  Purchase,  1803-1806  (Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,  Report,  1904, 
vol.  I,  149-174).  Ogg,  F.  A.,  The  Opening  of  the  Mississippi. 
Story,]., Commentaries,  §§  1277-1288, 1317-1321.  Sparks,  J.,  John 
Ledyard  (Library  of  American  Biography,  vol.  XIV).  Turner, 
F.  J.,  Diplomatic  Contest  for  the  Mississippi  Valley  (Atlantic, 
vol.  93,  676-691). 

Callender,  G.  S.,  Economic  History,  239-260.     Foster,  J.  W.,   Diplomacy. 
Century  of  American   Diplomacy.     Moore,  J.  B.,  American  Di 
plomacy,  chs.  Ill  and  V.     Schouler,  J.,  United  States,  II,  ch.  VI, 
sees,  i,  2.     See  also  Adams  as  noted  above. 

Other    valuable    biographies    are:     Adams,    H-,     Gallatin;  Biography. 
Dodd,  W.  E.,  Statesmen  of  the  Old  South,  and  Macon;_  Roosevelt, 
T.,  Morris;  Quincy,  E.,  Quincy. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  WAR   OF   1812 

The  election  THE  election  of  i8o8  occurred  during  the  stress  of  the 
debate  over  the  embargo.  It  was  understood  that  Madison 
represented  the  administration  policy,  although  Jefferson 
professed  to  stand  neutral  between  the  Republican  candi 
dates.  Monroe  was  the  candidate  of  Randolph  and  the 
"  Quids,"  who  attacked  the  growing  consolidation  of  the 
government,  and  would  have  limited  the  embargo  to  American 
vessels,  a  measure  which  would  have  relieved  the  southern 
planter  by  allowing  him  to  export  his  crops,  but  would 
not  have  benefited  the  maritime  interests.  The  Vice  Presi 
dent,  George  Clinton,  felt  that  he  deserved  promotion,  and 
that  the  northern  democracy  should  be  recognized.  The 
contest  was  practically  settled  by  the  first  public  congres 
sional  caucus,  which  selected  Madison  and  Clinton  as  the 
candidates;  but  in  spite  of  this  selection,  Monroe  was  run 
for  President  in  Virginia  and  Clinton  in  New  York.  The 
Federalists  at  first  thought  of  supporting  Monroe  or  Clinton, 
but  in  a  secret  meeting  of  the  leaders  in  New  York  decided 
to  repeat  the  ticket  of  1804,  presenting  C.  C.  Pinckney  and 
Rufus  King.  The  Federalist  candidates  received  the  votes 
of  all  New  England  except  Vermont,  and,  in  addition,  those 
of  Delaware,  and  5  in  Maryland  and  North  Carolina,  47 
in  all.  Madison  received  122,  and  Clinton  6  for  President. 
The  vote  for.  Vice  President  was  a  little  more  scattering, 
but  Clinton  was  reflected. 

The  domestic  . 

policy  of  the          Madison  had  been  a  most  efficient  assistant.    He  had 
mmiS"  proved  invaluable  to  Washington  during  the  movement  for  the 

108 


THE  NONINTERCOURSE  POLICY  109 

formation  of  the  Union,  and  to  Jefferson  during  the  struggle 
for  religious  liberty  in  Virginia,  and  afterwards  during  the 
conflict  with  the  Federalists  and  the  establishment  of  the 
Republican  regime.  He  was,  however,  a  weak  leader,  and 
at  once  encountered  congressional  opposition.  Fear  of  his  op 
ponents  deterred  him  from  promoting  Gallatin  from  the 
treasury  to  the  state  department,  and  caused  him  to  appoint 
to  the  latter  Robert  Smith,  the  weakest  man  who  ever  filled 
the  office.  Gallatin  remained  at  the  treasury,  and  Madison 
made  up  for  Smith's  incompetence  by  writing  many  of  his 
dispatches.  Probably  no  administration  ever  came  into 
office  with  so  few  intentions ;  in  fact,  absence  of  intent  was 
naturally  its  policy.  The  destruction  of  Federalist  legis 
lation  had  been  almost  completed  under  Jefferson ;  the  party 
policy  now  demanded  an  administration  without  a  history. 
There  was  a  growing  demand  for  internal  improvements, 
such  as  Jefferson  had  favored, }  and  this  movement  was 
fostered  by  Gallatin,  but  the  majority  were  as  yet  so  true  to 
the  principles  of  1800  that  the  only  thing  accomplished  was 
the  granting  of  various  small  appropriations  for  the  Cum 
berland  Road.  In  1811,  though  by  a  close  vote,  the  National 
Bank  was  discontinued. 

Foreign  affairs,  therefore,  absorbed  the  main  attention,  Noninter- 
and  here  Madison  seemed  at  first  to  score  a  victory.  The  cc 
embargo  had  been  succeeded  by  a  nonintercourse  act,  prohib 
iting  all  trade  with  England  and  with  France,  but  allowing 
it  with  the  rest  of  the  world.'  If,  however,  England  would 
withdraw  her  "Orders,"  or  Napoleon  revoke  his  "Decrees," 
the  prohibition  would  cease  against  the  compliant  power. 
Canning,  the  British  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  proposed  to 
take  advantage  of  this  offer,  if  he  could  at  the  same  time 
secure  other  advantages,  and  so  instructed  Erskine,  the 
English  minister  in  the  United  States.  The  latter  was  a  young 
man,  with  an  American  wife  and  American  sympathies,  and 
he  consented  to  a  treaty  more  favorable  to  America  than 


HO  THE  WAR  OF   1812 

Canning  had  intended.  Madison  promptly  withdrew  the 
prohibition  of  intercourse  with  England,  and  1200  ships 
sailed  for  that  country.  Canning,  however,  promptly  re 
jected  the  treaty,  claiming  that  Erskine  had  exceeded  his 
authority ;  nonintercourse  was  revived,  and  Madison's 
seeming  victory  was  turned  into  defeat.  Erskine  was  suc 
ceeded  by  Francis  James  Jackson,  a  disagreeable  man,  whom 
Madison  was  easily  able  to  worst  diplomatically,  but  whose 
year  in  America  meant  practically  a  cessation  of  negotiations. 

Prosperity  of         In  the  meantime,  American  trade  was  rapidly  reviving; 

traded  tne  mercantile  marine  of  Massachusetts  in  1809  was  larger 
than  ever  before.  Losses  from  seizures  were  guarded  against 
by  high  freight  rates  and  insurance.  Neutral  ports  were  uti 
lized,  as  is  shown  by  the  growth  of  exports  to  Russia,  from 
about  $12,000  in  1806  to  about  $4,000,000  in  1810.  More 
over,  the  laws  of  the  United  States  were  disobeyed,  and 
many  vessels  sailed  for  England  and  France,  while  those 
countries  issued  many  special  licenses  permitting  the  viola 
tion  of  their  own  regulations.  This  prosperity,  however, 
was  in  spite  of  the  restrictive  commercial  system  of  the  Re 
publicans  and  not  because  of  it.  This  system  had  no  vic 
tory  to  its  credit,  and  it  became  steadily  more  unpopular. 
The  result  of  this  growing  dissatisfaction  was  the  pas- 

MaconBill  sage  in  April,  1810,  of  Macon  Bill  number  two, — the 
first  and  more  stringent  bill  proposed  by  Macon  having 
failed  to  pass  the  Senate, — which  applied  the  system  in 
its  mildest  form.  This  bill  threw  open  all  trade,  but 
offered,  in  case  either  of  the  belligerents  should  change  its 
obnoxious  policy  and  the  other  should  not  follow  this 
example  within  three  months,  to  revive  the  nonimporta 
tion  act  against  the  country  that  remained  obdurate. 

Madison  and  This  act  brought  Madison  into  collision  with  Napoleon. 
It  was  not  the  first  time.  The  Louisiana  treaty  had  pre 
sented  an  ambiguity  with  regard  to  the  eastern  boundary. 
Madison  claimed  the  territory  up  to  the  Perdido  River,  the 


RELATIONS   WITH   FRANCE  III 

present  western  boundary  of  the  state  of  Florida,  whereas 
the  boundary  intended  was  the  Iberville  River,  just  north  of 
New  Orleans.  The  dispute  was  between  the  United  States 
and  Spain,  for  France  had  ceded  all  she  owned,  whatever  it 
might  be,  but  Napoleon  was  master  of  Spain,  and  negotiations 
were  actually  with  him.  Napoleon  cared  nothing  for  the  bit 
of  territory,  but  it  was  important  to  the  United  States  because 
it  contained  the  mouths  of  many  rivers  whose  upper  waters 
were  beginning  to  attract  settlers.  Ever  since  1803  Napoleon 
had  used  this  situation  to  influence  American  policy,  offering 
to  secure  title  when  the  United  States  might  be  of  use  to  him, 
and  withdrawing  when  the  need  had  passed.  On  the  whole 
Madison  got  the  best  of  the  game;  for  in  1810,  as  the  result 
of  a  revolution  by  some  American  settlers  in  the  region,  he 
took  possession  of  Baton  Rouge  and  about  half  of  the  dis 
puted  area.  The  United  States,  however,  had  as  yet  no 
good  international  title. 

Up  to  this  time,  however,  Napoleon  had  reason  to  think  Napoleon 
of  the  United  States  as  a  friendly  and  almost  docile  power, 
for  the  commercial  policy  of  restrictions,  although  not  adopted 
to  please  him,  was  actually  what  he  wanted,  as  it  cut  off  an 
important  branch  of  English  trade.  He  had,  to  be  sure,  dis 
approved  of  the  nonintercourse  act,  as  it  had  allowed  trade 
with  the  allies  of  France,  which  it  had  forbidden  with  her. 
As  long  as  there  was  a  possibility  that  England  and  the 
United  States  might  come  to  terms,  however,  he  had  re 
mained  quiescent,  in  fact  friendly,  fearing  an  alliance  be 
tween  the  two  countries.  When  the  disavowal  of  the  Erskine 
treaty  had  made  certain  a  period  of  ill  feeling  between  them, 
he  actively  expressed  his  disapproval.  He  first  ordered  all 
American  vessels  within  the  range  of  his  influence  to  be  se 
questered,  that  is,  held  for  official  examination,  on  the  ground 
that  those  in  French  ports  were  violating  United  States  law, 
and  that  those  in  the  ports  of  French  allies  should  not  be  al 
lowed  to  trade  while  trade  with  France  was  prohibited.  On 


112 


THE  WAR  OF   1812 


The  Cadore 
letter. 


Madison 
accepts  the 
Cadore 
letter. 


March  23,  1810,  the  Rambouillet  Decree  ordered  the  sale 
of  this  property,  amounting  to  $8,400,000,  and  consisting 
of  51  vessels  in  France,  44  in  Spain,  28  in  Naples,  and  n  in 
Holland.  Napoleon  was  in  hopes  that  this  order  might  cause 
a  reestablishment  of  the  embargo,  which  he  would  be  glad 
to  see,  and  the  property  which  he  held  might  be  used  to 
secure  concessions  from  the  United  States,  and  to  prevent 
retaliation.  The  main  purpose  of  his  policy,  the  cutting  off 
of  England's  trade  with  the  United  States,  was  still  secure. 

Very  different  was  the  situation  created  by  the  Macon 
Bill  number  two,  which  threw  the  restrictive  system  to  the 
winds  and  unsealed  one  of  England's  best  markets.  Napoleon 
promptly,  but  secretly,  ordered  the  absolute  confiscation  of  all 
the  American  property  sequestered  and  sold,  to  clear  up  ac 
counts  for  the  past,  and  on  the  same  day,  August  5,  1810, 
dictated  a  letter  which  his  foreign  minister,  Cadore,  communi 
cated  to  the  United  States.  This  announced  that  the  Decrees 
of  Berlin  and  Milan  "are  revoked,  and  after  November  i, 
they  will  cease  to  have  effect,  ...  it  being  well  understood 
that  in  consequence  of  this  declaration  the  English  are  to 
revoke  their  Orders  in  Council  and  renounce  the  new  principle 
of  blockade  which  they  have  wished  to  establish,"  or  that  the 
United  States  "  cause  their  rights  to  be  respected  by  the 
English."  "His  majesty  loves  the  Americans.  Their  pros 
perity  and  their  commerce  are  within  the  scope  of  his  policy." 

Madison  received  this  letter  with  delight,  and  requested 
England  to  revoke  her  Orders.  The  Marquis  of  Wellesley, 
who  had  now  succeeded  Canning  in  the  management  of  Eng 
lish  foreign  affairs,  replied  that  Cadore's  letter  made  the  re 
peal  conditional  on  the  action  of  England,  and  that  the  De 
crees  were  actually  being  enforced.  Napoleon  did  not  hasten 
to  explain  the  ambiguity.  In  fact  he  had  no  intention  of 
abandoning  his  continental  system,  but  proposed,  even  if 
England  withdrew  her  Orders,  to  secure  his  ends  by  internal 
regulations.  Madison,  however,  was  not  aware  of  this 


RELATIONS  WITH  FRANCE  AND   ENGLAND        113 

intention,  and  as  England  still  refused  to  recall  her  Orders,  he 
issued  a  proclamation  under  the  authority  of  Macon  Bill 
number  two,  reviving  nonintercourse  with  that  country  on 
February  2,  1811.  Congress  sustained  him  by  an  act  of 
March  2,  but  word  soon  reached  America  that  Napoleon  still 
seized  all  vessels  violating  the  Decrees,  and  during  the  spring 
the  balance  hung  between  peace  and  war.  Monroe,  who  had 
become  Secretary  of  State,  was  in  favor  of  breaking  nego 
tiations  with  France;  Madison  still  clung  to  his  belief  in 
Napoleon.  The  latter,  at  the  critical  moment,  released  the 
American  vessels  he  held.  The  administration  decided  in 
his  favor  ;  a  new  minister,  Joel  Barlow,  the  poet,  was  sent  to 
France,  and  Napoleon  had  the  satisfaction  of  closing  the 
American  market  to  England  once  more.  It  was  already 
beginning  to  be  evident  that  he  might  look  to  the  United 
States  for  still  more  active  assistance. 

The  situation  was  changing  in  the  United  States.  A  new  A  new 
generation  was  coming  to  the  front,  composed  of  young  men  gen 
born  during  or  after  the  Revolution,  whose  boyhood  had  been 
filled  with  tales  of  that  war.  They  felt  a  greater  confidence 
in  the  future  of  the  country,  a  more  unreasoning  patriotism 
than  the  older  men  who  had  been  so  long  at  the  helm,  and 
their  pride  was  stung  by  the  bickering,  ineffectual  neutrality 
which  we  had  for  twenty  years  been  practicing.  One  group 
of  such  young  leaders  came  from  South  Carolina.  That 
state  was  now  ready  to  play  a  leading  part  in  the  national 
life.  A  long  struggle  between  the  planters  of  the  coast  and 
the  frontier  farmer  element  descending  from  the  mountains, 
had  been  brought  to  a  close  in  1808  by  a  constitutional  ar 
rangement  between  the  sections,  by  which  each  controlled  one 
house  of  the  legislature.  The  spread  of  the  plantation  system 
resulting  from  the  expanding  cultivation  of  cotton  was  soon 
to  make  the  state  a  political  unit.  The  South  Carolina  lead 
ers,  some  sprung  from  the  cultivated  English  and  Huguenot 
stock  about  Charleston,  some  from  the  sturdy  Scotch- Irish 


114  THE   WAR  OF   1812 

element  of  the  piedmont,  were  freed  from  state  contests,  and 
prepared  to  turn  their  united  attention  to  national  affairs. 
In  the  new  Congress  William  Lowndes  and  John  C.  Calhoun 
appeared  for  the  first  time,  while  Langdon  Cheves  had  been  a 
member  for  but  a  part  of  the  previous  session.  These  were 
all  for  war,  but,  except  for  their  inherited  antipathy  to  Eng 
land,  were  impartial  as  between  France  and  England.  Cal 
houn  would  fight  both. 

The  influence  The  direction  in  which  this  energy  would  turn  was  deter- 
frontler.  mined  by  the  young  men  of  another  section.  The  frontier 
had  been  expanding  with  great  rapidity.  Population  had 
stretched  along  both  banks  of  the  Ohio  and  parts  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  the  Tennessee,  and  the  Cumberland.  This  advance 
had  not  been  with  regular,  closed  front,  as  Washington  had 
advised,  but  along  the  lines  of  most  attraction  or  least  resist 
ance.  The  government  under  the  Republicans  had  rapidly 
extended  the  purchase  of  Indian  lands,  with  the  general  idea 
of  obtaining  the  possession  of  river  banks  rather  than  of 
steady  progressive  occupation.  In  1804  the  minimum 
amount  of  public  land  sold,  was  reduced  to  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  the  minimum  price  remaining  at  two  dollars  an 
acre,  and  the  method  being  that  none  was  sold  by  private  sale 
until  after  it  was  offered  at  public  auction.  New  land  offices 
were  opened  at  convenient  points  in  the  West,  and,  under  the 
credit  system  established  in  1800,  the  settler  could  buy  land 
that  was  on  the  market  for  eighty  dollars  down,  eighty  more 
at  the  end  of  two  years,  and  similar  payments  at  the  end  of 
the  third  and  fourth  years.  This  did  not  satisfy  the  restless 
frontiersmen,  who  pressed  on,  seeking  the  most  attractive 
spots  or  impelled  by  a  desire  for  change,  regardless  of  govern 
ment  regulations.  They  settled  in  land  not  yet  placed  on  sale, 
or  even  in  regions  not  yet  purchased  from  the  Indians,  and 
asked  that,  when  these  locations  were  actually  surveyed,  the 
settler  be  given  the  right  to  purchase  at  the  minimum  price 
by  private  sale  before  the  public  auction  took  place.  At  first 


DENSITY  OF  POPULATION 

IN  THE 


UNITED  STATES  1810 


Gf    c  -*-1/  •*  *    ^    O 
|  Less  than  2  inhabitants  per  sq  mile 

I          I          2  to    6          <•  -     "     " 

[_         |          6  to  18          « " 

[          |         18  to  45 

[         I        «  to  90         » 

i 


*  Center  of  Population 

Cities  of  over  8,000  inhabitants  are  show 
in  circles  proportionate  to  population 


ilO  Longitude  85        West          from       80 


INDIAN  WAR  IN  THE  WEST  115 

the  government  endeavored  to  drive  out  such  unauthorized 
squatters,  but  government  authority  was  not  sufficiently 
strong  to  keep  them  out  of  the  wilderness.  As  western  in 
fluence  grew  in  politics  the  demand  for  legal  recognition  of  the 
right  of  the  squatter  to  preemption  in  the  purchase  of  his 
holding  became  more  insistent.  In  several  special  cases  it 
was  granted,  and  this  encouraged  others  to  settle  where  they 
wished,  in  the  hope  that  they  would  subsequently  be  granted 
rights.  The  result  was  that  the  frontier  was  irregular  and  far 
flung.  Great  and  powerful  Indian  tribes  interposed  between 
the  settlements  of  eastern  Georgia  and  those  of  Louisiana,  on 
the  one  hand,  and  of  Tennessee,  on  the  other.  Back  of  the 
thread  of  river  farms  in  Indiana  and  Illinois  were  other 
tribes  still  unbroken.  Hence  the  people  of  Georgia,  Ten 
nessee,  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Louisiana,  and  even  Vermont  may 
be  said  to  have  been  living  under  frontier  conditions ;  one  fifth 
of  the  whole  population  of  the  United  States  and  represented, 
after  the  admission  of  Louisiana  as  a  state  in  April,  1812,  by 
12  senators  out  of  36;  and,  under  the  census  of  1810,  by 
35  out  of  182  representatives. 

This  section  was  even  more  powerful  from  its  unanimity  Indian  war  m 
than  from  its  size.  Every  new  purchase  of  land  aroused  the  West> 
greater  hostility  among  the  Indians.  Two  great  Indians, 
brothers,  — Tecumseh,  the  statesman,  and  Olliwochica,  the 
prophet, — .were  organizing  the  tribes  to  resist  further  en 
croachments  ;  and  they  were  universally  believed  to  receive 
support  from  the  British  in  Canada.  The  crisis  came  when 
the  Indians  denied  the  legality  of  the  last  great  purchase  along 
the  Wabash.  Hostilities  broke  out,  and  on  November  5, 181 1, 
William  Henry  Harrison,  governor  of  Indiana  Territory,  won 
the  important  victory  of  Tippecanoe.  An  Indian  war  was 
thus  begun,  and  the  frontiersmen  believed  that  they  must 
fight  the  British,  at  any  rate,  secretly.  They  thought  that  it 
would  be  better  to  do  it  openly,  and  that  the  conquest  of 
Canada  was  possible  and  was  the  soundest  solution  of  the 


Il6  THE  WAR  OF   1812 

Indian  question.  Representatives  of  such  ideas  were  Felix 
Grundy  and  John  Sevier  of  Tennessee,  and  R.  M.  Johnson 
and  Henry  Clay  of  Kentucky. 

Preparations  These  young  leaders,  known  as  the  "War  Hawks,"  con- 
EngTand™  trolled  the  Congress  that  came  together  in  the  fall  of  1811. 
Clay  was  elected  Speaker,  and  he  gave  the  important  com 
mittee  chairmanships  to  men  of  like  views.  A  war  program 
was  rushed  through  Congress.  Republican  repugnance  to  a 
navy  was  still,  indeed,  strong  enough  to  thwart  Cheves  and 
Lowndes  in  their  endeavors  to  prepare  for  ocean  warfare, 
but  land  forces  were  abundantly  provided  for.  The  regular 
army  was  to  be  increased  by  25,000  men,  the  President  was 
authorized  to  employ  50,000  volunteers,  new  regulations  for 
the  militia  were  adopted,  and  half  a  million  was  appropriated 
for  coast  defense.  Madison,  though  looking  upon  war  rather 
with  apprehension  than  with  enthusiasm,  followed  the  new 
leaders  and  put  their  policy  into  effect.  Already  he  had  with 
drawn  our  minister,  William  Pinkney,  from  England,  as  a 
result  of  the  misunderstanding  over  the  Cadore  letter.  The 
English  government,  now  somewhat  alarmed  at  the  pros 
pect  of  war,  sent  over  A.  J.  Foster,  who  at  length  arranged  the 
Chesapeake  affair  and  some  minor  matters.  Public  opinion, 
however,  was  not  appeased,  and  Madison  inflamed  the  hos 
tility  toward  England  by  making  public  the  papers  of  a 
British  spy,  John  Henry,  who  had  been  sent  in  1809  to  report 
on  public  sentiment  in  New  England.  These  papers,  which 
Madison  had  secured  in  a  somewhat  romantic  manner,  con 
tained  no  startling  disclosures,  but  they  evinced  an  unfriendly 
and  suspicious  attitude  on  the  part  of  England.  On  April  i, 
1812,  Madison  recommended  an  embargo  of  sixty  days,  which 
was  considered  as  preparatory  to  war.  On  June  i  he  sent  in  a 
long  message  reviewing  our  negotiations  with  England,  and 
suggesting  that  Congress  consider  the  question  of  war.  On 
June  1 8  Congress  passed  the  crucial  measure,  and  the  war 
was  begun.  On  June  23,  before  news  of  the  war  reached 


REELECTION  OF  MADISON  117 

England,  the  ministry,  after  a  hard  struggle  in  Parliament, 
had  yielded  to  the  accumulated  complaints  of  English  manu 
facturers  who  wrere  impoverished  and  laborers  who  were  starv 
ing  because  of  the  cutting  off  of  American  trade,  and  withdrew 
its  Orders.  The  war  party  in  the  United  States,  however,  was 
really  more  influenced  by  ill  feeling  caused  by  twenty  years  of 
rude  treatment,  and  by  the  Indian  question,  than  by  a  desire 
to  win  commercial  privileges.  The  impressment  question, 
moreover,  remained  unsettled,  and  so  this  action  of  England 
did  not  affect  their  determination  to  persist  in  the  war. 

This  war  policy  was  not  adopted  without  opposition.  The  election 
John  Randolph  and  a  few  other  Republicans  joined  with  the  of  lSl2* 
Federalists,  led  by  Josiah  Quincy,  in  fighting  it,  step  by  step, 
through  Congress.  Even  now  that  war  had  been  declared, 
it  was  still  hoped  by  these  leaders  that  the  election  in  the  fall 
would  reverse  the  decision.  The  Republicans  in  congres 
sional  caucus  renominated  Madison,  and  selected  Elbridge 
Gerry  for  the  vice  presidency.  Monroe,  now  Secretary  of 
State,  supported  the  administration.  George  Clinton  was 
dead,  but  his  more  talented  nephew,  DeWitt  Clinton,  decided 
to  run  as  a  northern  and  peace  candidate.  He  was  nomi 
nated  by  the  Republican  members  of  the  New  York  legis 
lature,  and  his  nomination  was  indorsed  by  a  convention 
of  Federalists  which  met  at  New  York.  The  election  was 
fought  out  strictly  on  the  war  issue,  and  the  result  showed 
the  important  position,  as  arbiter  between  the  sections, 
which  the  frontier  had  come  to  occupy.  The  old  thirteen 
coast  states  gave  90  electoral  votes  to  Madison  and  89  to 
Clinton;  the  five  new  western  states  gave  their  38  votes 
solidly  for  war.  Of  the  coast  states,  New  England  gave  its 
43  votes  for  peace;  the  59  votes  south  of  the  Potomac 
were  for  war ;  the  Middle  States  divided  3 1  for  war  and  46 
for  peace.  Madison's  majority  was  unexpectedly  narrow ; 
the  change  of  the  single  state  of  Pennsylvania  situated  in  the 
closely  divided  region  would  have  elected  Clinton. 


Il8  THE  WAR  OF   1812 

The  inter na-          The  War  of  1812  was  no  more  a  single-handed  conflict 
tion.   "  between  the  United  States  and  England  than  was  the  Revo 

lution.  In  1776  the  conflict  began  in  America  and  spread 
to  Europe;  in  1812  the  United  States  was  at  length  drawn  into 
the  great  struggle  from  which  all  her  elder  statesmen  had  been 
for  nineteen  years  endeavoring  to  keep  her  free.  It  is  notice 
able  that  the  one  great  country  whose  interests  were  very 
similar  to  our  own,  Russia,  had  just  taken  the  other  side  in 
the  conflict.  We  felt  most  keenly  the  violation  of  neutral 
rights  by  England ;  Russia,  the  exactions  of  Napoleon's  con 
tinental  system.  At  the  very  time  that  Russia  accepted  war 
with  France  for  the  express  purpose  of  protecting  her  growing 
commerce  with  the  United  States,  the  latter  went  to  war  with 
England,  and  the  weight  of  the  neutral  powers  was  thus 
balanced.  Russia  allied  herself  with  England,  but  we  did 
not  correspondingly  join  Napoleon.  We  had  suffered  almost 
equally  from  both  parties ;  since  the  beginning  of  hostilities  in 
Europe,  according  to  a  report  made  to  Congress  July  6, 1812, 
Great  Britain  had  made  917  seizures,  of  which  more  than 
half  had  been  returned  as  illegal ;  France  558,  of  which  about 
one  quarter  had  been  similarly  returned.  In  spite  of  tradi 
tional  sympathy,  even  Madison  shared  in  the  feeling  of  Cal- 
houn  that  the  logical  thing,  however  impractical,  was  to 
make  war  upon  both.  The  administration,  therefore,  re 
frained  from  an  alliance  with  France,  but  French  success 
meant  the  success  of  the  United  States,  and  the  war  press 
followed  with  exultation  the  invasion  of  Russia,  and  with 
growing  affright  Napoleon's  desperate  struggle  of  1813  and 
1814. 

Conditions  in  The  United  States  was  ill  prepared  for  war.  During  the 
Stated  e  long  period  of  Jefferson's  economy  the  means  of  defense  had 
been  cut  down  to  the  slenderest.  The  great  reduction  of  the 
debt  might  have  been  expected  to  improve  credit,  but  this 
was  offset  by  the  hostility  of  the  merchant  class,  which 
possessed  the  greater  part  of  the  ready  money,  and  by  the 


CONDITIONS  IN  THE  UNITED   STATES  119 

disappearance  of  the  United  States  Bank,  which  would  have 
managed  the  necessary  loans.  There  was,  moreover,  a  great 
reduction  in  the  revenue.  Nearly  all  sources  of  income  had 
been  discarded  except  the  tariff,  and  during  the  war  the 
blockade  of  the  coast  by  the  overwhelming  navy  of  Great 
Britain  rendered  the  income  from  that  source  small  and  pre 
carious.  Trade  did  not  indeed  cease.  The  English  needed 
American  foodstuffs  for  their  armies  in  Spain,  and  by  special 
license  Baltimore  merchants  drove  a  thriving  trade  thither ; 
sending  in  1813,  $15,500,000  worth,  chiefly  flour,  to  the 
peninsula.  The  English,  too,  did  not  extend  their  blockade 
to  the  New  England  coast  until  April  25,  1814,  and  Boston 
merchants  supplied,  at  least  to  some  extent,  the  English  at 
Halifax;  but  between  December  10,  1813,  and  April  4,  1814, 
this  trade  was  partly  interrupted  by  a  domestic  embargo. 
The  import  trade,  upon  which  alone  duties  could  be  collected, 
was  still  more  interrupted,  being  confined  almost  entirely  to 
New  England  ports.  As  the  duties  were  doubled,  the  collec 
tions  at  Boston  actually  increased  until  that  port  was  block 
aded,  but  were  not  sufficient  to  offset  their  almost  entire 
cessation  elsewhere.  In  1813,  Congress  imposed  for  the  sec 
ond  time  a  direct  tax,  and  revived  the.  Federalist  expedient 
of  an  excise.  All  these  resources  together  produced  only  a 
little  over  $10,000,000  a  year;  and  to  meet  the  excess 
expense  of  about  $20,000,000  a  year  Gallatin  resorted  to 
treasury  notes  and  permanent  loans.  These  loans  amounted 
during  the  war  to  $98,000,000,  and  the  government  found 
great  difficulty  in  marketing  them;  they  brought  in  much 
less  than  their  face  value  and  paid  high  interest,  the  first 
seven  and  one  half  per  cent.  The  government,  moreover, 
was  not  a  strong  one  on  the  administrative  side.  Gallatin 
was  not  popular  and  left  the  country  in  1813  as  peace  commis 
sioner.  His  office  was  filled,  after  an  interval;  by  Alexander 
Dallas,  also  of  Pennsylvania,  and  a  strong  man,  though  not 
the  equal  of  Gallatin.  In  the  other  departments  Monroe  was 


120  THE  WAR  OF   1812 

the  only  really  able  official,  and  he  cannot  be  considered  as 
first  class.  Madison,  himself,  was  not  a  vigorous  chief  execu 
tive,  and  inefficiency  permeated  the  administration. 
Naval  duels.  The  American  navy  at  the  opening  of  the  war  —  aside 
from  Jefferson's  gunboats,  one  hundred  and  seventy  in  num 
ber,  intended  only  for  coast  defense  and  of  very  little  use 
even  for  that  purpose  —  consisted  of  frigates  and  sloops  built 
during  the  Federalist  regime.  All  together  there  were  about 
twenty  vessels,  and  not  one  able  to  oppose  an  English  line- 
of-battle  ship.  Eleven  British  ships  of  the  line  and  about 
ninety  other  vessels  were  on  American  stations  at  the  out 
break  of  hostilities.  The  administration  proposed  to  keep 
the  American  vessels  in  harbor  for  coast  defense,  but  Rogers 
with  a  small  squadron  put  forth  to  sea  without  waiting  for 
orders,  and  the  remonstrances  of  naval  officers  backed  by 
the  early  successes  of  the  navy  succeeded  in  bringing  about 
a  change  of  plan.  The  American  commanders'  object  was 
to  cruise  on  well-known  British  trade  routes  and  destroy 
commerce.  While  they  were  forced  to  flee  when  they  encoun 
tered  a  ship  of  the  line,  they  were  anxious  to  meet  British 
frigates  singly,  for  the  American  naval  department  had 
hit  upon  the  clever  device  of  building  frigates  somewhat  su 
perior  to  those  of  corresponding  rank  in  the  British  navy. 
On  August  19,  1812,  the  Constitution,  Captain  Hull,  encoun 
tered  the  Guerriere.  After  a  sharp  fight  the  Guerriere  struck 
and  soon  after  sank.  This  was  the  first  of  a  series  of 
naval  duels :  the  Wasp  fought  the  Frolic;  the  United  States, 
the  Macedonian;  the  Constitution,  the  Java;  the  Chesapeake, 
the  Shannon;  and  in  all  of  these  contests  except  the  last 
the  American  vessel  won.  These  encounters  attracted  an 
attention  far  beyond  their  intrinsic  importance.  The  Eng 
lish  had  looked  upon  themselves  as  invincible  upon  the  sea 
against  almost  any  odds.  Brougham  had  said  in  Parliament : 
"The  assembled  navies  of  America  could  not  lay  siege  to 
an  English  sloop  of  war."  The  fact  that  in  nearly  all  these 


THE  WAR  ON  LAND  121 

cases  the  American  vessels  were  slightly  superior  in  size 
and  weight  of  metal,  was  less  important  than  the  fact  that 
they  showed  in  each  encounter  superior  speed  and  maneuver 
ing  qualities  and  better  marksmanship.  The  American  crews 
were  better  treated,  and  proved  to  be  more  efficient. 

In  America  these  successes  aroused  much  enthusiasm, 
Congress  became  much  more  liberal  towards  the  navy,  and 
several  battleships  were  laid  down.  These  were  not,  how 
ever,  finished  before  the  war  ended;  the  existing  vessels  were 
picked  off  one  after  another  by  the  British,  or  blockaded  in 
port,  and  by  1814  the  navy  was  almost  driven  from  the  sea. 
Five  hundred  and  twenty-six  privateers  from  time  to  time 
assisted  the  navy  in  the  work  of  commerce  destroying,  taking 
over  thirteen  hundred  prizes,  but  most  of  these  too  were 
finally  captured  or  blockaded.  The  naval  record  of  the  War 
of  1812  was  brilliant,  considering  American  resources.  In 
captures,  the  two  countries  were  about  equal ;  the  Ameri 
cans  claimed  all  together  about  1750,  the  British  navy  cap 
tured  1683,  and  British  privateers  a  small  number.  The 
effect  upon  the  ocean,  however,  was  totally  different  in  the 
case  of  the  two  countries.  Although  English  insurance  rates 
rose  decidedly,  and  the  commercial  interests  became,  to 
some  degree,  hostile  to  the  war,  English  commerce  was  not 
demoralized,  while  that  of  the  United  States  was,  by  the 
end  of  the  war,  arrested.  Moreover,  none  of  the  English 
military  operations  on  the  seacoast  were  impeded.  Great 
Britain  remained  mistress  of  the  ocean.  Naval  warfare  on 
the  Lakes,  however,  told  a  different  story. 

The  war  party  had  put  its  hopes  chiefly  on  the  land  war,  The  first  year 
hoping  to  coerce  England  by  the  conquest  of  Canada.     It  was  °*^e  war  on 
thought  by  many  that  the  Canadians  would  welcome  the 
American  armies  as  liberators  from  a  hated  yoke.     This  view 
overlooked  the  fact  that  the  seat  of  war,  upper  Canada  or 
Ontario,  had  been  settled  very  largely  by  American  Loyalists, 
whose  devotion  to  the  Crown  was  strengthened  by  their 


122  THE  WAR  OF   1812 

bitterness  toward  those  who  had  driven  them  from  their 
homes  and  deprived  them  of  their  estates.  The  incompetence 
of  many  of  the  generals  first  selected,  and  the  difficulty  of 
mobilizing  armies  composed  chiefly  of  militia,  added  to  the 
difficulties,  but  perhaps  still  more  important  was  the  wild 
nature  of  the  country,  rendering  an  extensive  campaign 
of  conquest  almost  impossible.  The  first  invasion,  directed 
from  Detroit  by  General  Hull,  recoiled  upon  American  soil. 
Hull  and  his  army  were  captured,  and  the  peninsula  of  Michi 
gan  fell  under  British  control,  while  British  expeditions  pene 
trated  the  wilderness  of  Wisconsin  to  the  Mississippi,  and 
occupied  Fort  Dearborn  on  the  site  of  what  is  now  Chicago. 
Meanwhile,  the  fighting  on  the  Niagara  frontier  was  indeci 
sive,  —  in  effect  an  American  defeat,  as  the  Americans  had 
taken  the  initiative.  An  advance  northward  along  the  line  of 
Lake  Champlain  also  proved  abortive. 

The  navy  of  the  Lakes  came  to  the  assistance  of  the  army. 
On  September  10,  1813,  Oliver  Hazard  Perry,  having  con 
structed  a  fleet,  largely  out  of  green  timber,  defeated  the 
English  and  won  control  of  Lake  Erie.     With  his  assistance, 
The  over-       William  Henry  Harrison  invaded  Canada,  and  on  October  5 
£Xns.fthe    defeated  the  English  in  the  battle  of  the  Thames.    This 
battle  was  particularly  pleasing   to   the   frontiersmen,   for 
Tecumseh  was  killed  and  the  confederation  of  northwestern 
Indians  broken  up.    The  same  fall  saw  the  last  uprising  of 
the  Creek  Indians.     They  had  been  roused  by  the  eloquence 
of  Tecumseh,  who  had  visited  them  in  1811,  and,  knowing  of 
the  English  war,  on  August  30,  1813,  surprised  and  massacred 
about  four  hundred  whites  gathered  in  Fort  Minims  on  the 
Alabama.     Tennessee  was  promptly  aroused,  and  General 
Andrew  Jackson,  with  an  army  of  frontiersmen,  descended 
upon  the   Indians  and  on   March  27,    1814,  at  the   Great 
Horseshoe  Bend,  administered  a  severe  and  lasting  defeat. 
English  proj-        In  spite  of  these  successes  the  year  1814  opened  inaus- 
ectsm  1814.    piously.    Napoleon  abdicated  April  n,  and  England  could 


DOMESTIC  DISAFFECTION  123 

direct  her  entire  energies  to  the  American  war.  A  vigorous 
campaign  was  planned;  an  expedition  on  Burgoyne's  old 
route  down  Lake  Champlain,  a  harrying  of  the  coast,  par 
ticularly  of  the  Chesapeake,  by  mixed  naval  and  military 
forces,  with  attacks  on  Washington  and  Baltimore,  and,  most 
important  of  all,  a  great  expedition  against  New  Orleans. 

The  coast  expedition  had  a  fair  share  of  success  during  Depression 
the  summer.  It  made  several  descents  on  New  England,  and  m  l8l4- 
in  August  temporarily  occupied  Washington  and  burned  the 
Capitol.  In  September,  however,  it  received  a  severe  check  on 
its  attack  on  Baltimore,  where  Fort  McHenry  successfully  re 
sisted  the  fleet,  making  a  defense  which  inspired  Francis  Scott 
Key  to  write  The  Star  Spangled  Banner,  which  immediately 
became  the  most  popular  of  the  national  anthems.  The 
Champlain  project  was  thwarted  by  a  naval  battle  near 
Plattsburg,  New  York,  where,  on  September  n,  Commodore 
Macdonough  defeated  an  English  flotilla,  and  maintained 
control  of  the  lake,  thus  making  an  advance  by  the  English 
army  impracticable.  The  greatest  and  the  most  ominous  of 
the  undertakings,  that  against  New  Orleans,  was  still  im 
pending  during  the  fall.  The  fate  of  the  Mississippi  valley 
seemed  again  uncertain.  The  Louisiana  region  contained 
only  about  150,000  inhabitants;  it  was  isolated  from  the 
rest  of  the  United  States ;  the  loyalty  of  its  Creole  popula 
tion  to  the  United  States  had  never  been  proved  and  was 
strongly  suspected.  In  the  hands  of  a  foreign  power,  it 
would  become  a  menace  to  the  Union,  as  it  had  been  before 
the  purchase.  Timothy  Pickering  wrote  that  he  did  not  ex 
pect  any  western  members  to  attend  the  opening  of  Congress. 
Just  at  this  time  domestic  affairs  reached  a  crisis  more  acute 
than  any  since  1798;  if,  indeed,  they  were  then  as  full  of 
peril. 

The  administration,  following  Jefferson's  plans,  had  hoped  Domestic 
to  rely  to  a  very  great  extent  on  the  militia  for  its  military   disaffection- 
operations.     This   reliance   proved   delusive,   for   the   state 


124  THE  WAR  OF  l812 

authorities  made  many  difficulties  about  the  appointment  of 
militia  officers,  and  about  the  employment  of  the  militia  in 
Canada  or  even  outside  the  state  to  which  it  belonged.  While 
General  Van  Rensselaer  and  his  troops  were  fighting  .against 
superior  numbers  on  the  Canada  side  of  the  Niagara  River, 
New  York  militia,  eyewitnesses  of  the  conflict,  refused  to  cross 
to  their  assistance. '  This  attitude  was  most  marked  in  New 
England,  where  opposition  to  the  war  was  very  strong.  The 
general  dissatisfaction  which  had  been  felt  for  twelve  years  at 
New  England's  constantly  decreasing  influence,  naturally  cul 
minated  when  she  was  drawn  into  a  war  against  England, 
which  country  she  believed  to  be  defending  the  cause  of  just 
and  sound  government.  George  Cabot  had  predicted,  in  1804, 
that  in  case  of  "a  war  with  Great  Britain,  manifestly  provoked 
by  our  rulers,  .  .  .  separation  will  then  be  unavoidable, 
when  our  loyalty  to  the  Union  is  generally  perceived  to  be 
the  instrument  of  debasement  and  impoverishment."  The 
Federalists  secured  control  of  all  the  New  England  state  gov 
ernments,  and  on  October  17,  1814,  Massachusetts  called  a 
convention  to  meet  at  Hartford  to  discuss  the  situation. 
The  Hartford  Twenty-three  delegates  met  at  Hartford  on  December  15, 
Convention.  i8i4  George  Cabot  presided  but,  either  from  constitutional 
dislike  of  action,  or  because  his  wisdom  grew  with  the  impor 
tance  of  the  event  and  he  realized  that  the  majority  still  fa 
vored  the  Union,  he  took  a  fairly  conservative  stand.  In 
secret  session  the  convention  formulated  its  demands:  that 
the  power  of  Congress  to  make  war,  to  make  new  states,  and 
to  lay  embargoes  or  restrict  commerce  be  limited  by  consti 
tutional  amendment ;  that  amendments  be  adopted  provid 
ing  that  the  President  serve  only  one  term,  and  that  succes 
sive  Presidents  should  not  come  from  the  same  state;  and 
that  the  representation  of  the  southern  states  based  on 
slave  population  be  abolished.  The  states  were  also  advised 
to  demand  a  portion  of  the  national  taxes  raised  within  their 
limits  to  be  used  for  purposes  of  local  defense ;  and,  while 


BATTLE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS          125 

awaiting  the  answer  to  these  ultimata,  to  make  certain 
antidemocratic  changes  in  their  laws,  and  to  protect  their 
citizens  from  the  draft  for  military  service  which  the  admin 
istration  was  at  that  very  time,  though  unsuccessfully,  urging 
Congress  to  order.  If  the  national  government  should  not 
grant  these  demands  within  six  months,  it  was  recommended 
that  another  convention  be  held.  While  it  is  very  doubtful 
whether  a  majority  in  any  New  England  state  would  have 
supported  an  actual  proposition  to  secede,  even  if  these  de 
mands  had  been  refused,  the  state  of  the  Union  seemed  very 
dubious  when  the  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  commis 
sioners  appointed  to  present  the  conclusions  of  the  con 
vention  approached  Washington  in  the  middle  of  January, 
1815. 

Two  events  occurred  before  they  reached  there,  however,  Battle  of 
that  rendered  their  mission  so  obviously  useless  that  they  NewO: 


returned  home  without  presenting  their  demands. 
first  of  these  was  the  defeat  of  the  New  Orleans  expedition 
by  General  Jackson,  in  a  battle  on  January  8,  which  aroused 
to  enthusiasm  the  patriotic  pride  of  the  Americans.  Frontiers 
men  from  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  had  descended  to  the 
assistance  of  the  local  levies,  and  had  defeated  a  superior 
force  of  the  enemy,  consisting  of  picked  troops  who  had 
served  with  Wellington,  and  who  were  supported  by  a  large 
fleet.  The  battle  enheartened  those  who  were  discouraged, 
and  renewed  the  war  spirit.  Both  the  spirit  and  the  battle, 
however,  were  unnecessary,  for,  before  the  battle  had  been 
fought,  peace  had  been  signed,  although  news  of  it  did  not 
reach  America  until  later. 

Negotiations  had  been  begun  almost  as  soon  as  hostilities.  Peace  nego- 
Russia,  desirous  of  concentrating  all  England's  strength 
against  France,  and  friendly  to  the  United  States,  had  offered 
mediation.  This  offer  was  accepted  by  the  United  States  in 
the  spring  of  1813.  Napoleon's  fortunes  were  waning  rapidly, 
and  it  was  to  be  feared  that  the  whole  weight  of  England's 


126  THE  WAR  OF  1812 

power  might  be  directed  against  us.  John  Quincy  Adams, 
Gallatin,  and  James  A.  Bayard,  a  Federalist  senator  from  Dela 
ware,  were  appointed  commissioners.  England  refused  the 
mediation,  but  the  commissioners  remained  abroad,  and 
in  1814  direct  negotiations  were  begun.  Henry  Clay  and 
Jonathan  Russell  were  added  to  the  commission,  and  Ghent 
was  arranged  as  the  place  of  meeting  with  the  English  com 
missioners.  The  latter  were  instructed  to  demand  a  "  recti 
fication"  of  the  boundary  line,  the  establishment  of  an  in 
dependent  buffer  Indian  state  between  the  Ohio  and  the  Lakes, 
and  other  concessions.  The  American  commissioners  re 
fused  to  treat  on  this  basis.  The  Duke  of  Wellington-  told 
the  British  government  that  the  military  situation  did  not 
justify  such  demands  and  would  not  while  the  Americans 
had  control  of  the  Lakes.  The  English  industrial  and  com 
mercial  classes  were  eager  for  peace  and  a  renewal  of  trade,  and 
brought  such  pressure  to  bear  upon  the  government  that  it 
receded,  first  from  one  point,  and  then  from  another,  until 
at  length  a  treaty  was  agreed  to  on  Christmas  eve,  1814, 
upon  the  basis  of  the  status  quo  ante  bellum,  or  a  return  to 
the  conditions  before  the  war.  As  we  had  gone  to  war  for 
the  redress  of  grievances  this  was,  strictly  speaking,  a  defeat, 
but  the  change  of  circumstances  resulting  from  the  defeat  of 
Napoleon  made  it  seem  a  distinct  victory.  It  was  not  a 
return  to  the  condition  before  the  war,  because  with  the  ces 
sation  of  war  in  Europe,  the  violation  of  our  neutral  rights 
actually  ceased ;  moreover,  the  Indians  of  the  southwest  and 
northwest,  although  they  still  remained  on  their  lands,  had 
been  decisively  defeated  and  ceased  to  be  a  factor  in  war  or 
diplomacy.  The  news  of  the  treaty,  coming  in  close  con 
junction  with  Jackson's  great  victory,  turned  the  country 
from  depression  to  rejoicing ;  the  commissioners  of  Massa 
chusetts  and  Connecticut  returned  without  even  proceeding 
to  Washington,  and  all  fear  of  disunion  vanished  with  the 
announcement  of  the  peace. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES  127 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES 

For  war  speeches :  Colton,  C.,  The  Life,  etc.,  of  Henry  Clay,  I,  Sources. 
159-185 ;  and  Calhoun,  J.  C.,  Works,  II,  1-13.  For  peace  speeches : 
see  Harding,  S.  B.,  Select  Orations,  175-190  (John  Randolph) ; 
and  Quincy,  E.,  Josiah  Quincy,  281-300.  These  speeches  are  also 
to  be  found  in  the  Annals  of  Congress.  For  the  peace  negotia 
tions:  Adams,  J.  Q.,  Memoirs,  III,  1-144,  perhaps  the  best  op 
portunity  for  the  general  student  to  become  acquainted  with  this 
diary,  owing  to  the  concentration  of  interest.  Ames,  H.  V.,  State 
Documents,  54-88,  and  Macdonald,  W.,  Select  Documents,  No.  32, 
give  material  on  the  Hartford  Convention. 

Babcock,  K.  C.,  The  Rise  of  American  Nationality,  is  partial-  Historical 
larly  good  on  the  western  aspects  of  the  war  movement.  Into  accounts' 
the  more  intricate  complications  of  the  diplomatic  web  the  author 
has  not  found  it  expedient  to  lead  the  students  in  a  general  course. 
McMaster,  United  States,  III,  529-540,  and  Schouler,  United 
States,  vol.  II,  ch.  VIII,  sec.  i,  give  most  students  more  than 
Henry  Adams.  On  the  Hartford  Convention,  H.  C.  Lodge's 
George  Cabot,  chs.  X-XIII,  throws  more  light  than  anything  else. 
Hildreth,  R.,  United  States,  VI,  464-477,  544-554,  is  useful  where 
available.  On  the  war  itself,  Mahan,  A.  T.,  Sea  Power  in  its  Rela 
tion  to  the  War  of  1812,  especially  chs.  V,  IX,  XI,  and  XVII, 
makes  good  and  valuable  reading.  His  chapter  XVIII  is  also  the 
most  comprehensible  account  of  the  peace  negotiations.  Schouler} 
United  States,  II,  417-491,  has  a  lively  account  of  the  war. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION  —  NEW  SOCIAL,  ECONOMIC, 
AND  POLITICAL  CONDITIONS 

The  period  of         THE  close  of  the  War  of  1812  marks  the  beginning  of  a 
transition.       ngw  ^^  jn  ^g  historv  of  the  United  States.     From  1760 


to  1815  two  great  problems,  our  relations  with  Europe  and 
the  organization  of  government,  absorbed  the  energies  of 
the  nation.  The  tendencies  of  national  development  and 
the  characteristics  and  interests  of  the  several  sections  re 
mained  fairly  constant.  Now,  new  problems,  new  tendencies, 
and  changing  characteristics  are  discernible.  For  about 
fifteen  years,  however,  representatives  of  the  passing  genera 
tion  remained  in  partial  control,  and  we  have  a  period  of 
transition.  During  this  transitional  period  the  old  conflict 
between  Federalists  and  Republicans  quieted  down,  the 
party  in  power  utilized  what  was  more  permanent  in  the 
policies  of  both,  and  the  period  is  called  the  "Era  of  Good 
Feeling."  At  the  same  time  new  sections  were  working  out 
their  principles,  new  leaders  were  endeavoring  to  find  nat 
ural  bonds  of  union  and  points  of  difference,  and  politically 
it  might  be  called  with  equal  truth  the  "Era  of  Factional  Con 
flict."  Party  politics  almost  ceased,  but  personal,  sectional, 
and  economic  differences  were  more  pronounced  than  ever 
beforeTj 

The  disap-  The    Federalists    never  recovered  from    the  ill    repute 

thTFederai-    brought  upon  them  by  the  Hartford  Convention  and  the 

rumors  circulated  as  to  its  secret  purposes.    They  continued 

to  be  a  factor  in  some  states  and  to  send  to  Congress  a  mi 

nority  distinguished  by  such  men  as  Rufus  King  and  Daniel 

128 


ACTIVITY   OF  THE  SUPREME   COURT  129 

Webster,  but  their  influence  was  merely  as  a  makeweight 
between  factions  of  their  opponents.  The  democratic  spirit 
of  Jefferson  had  definitely  triumphed  over  the  aristocratic 
leanings  of  the  Essex  Junto. 

On  the  other  hand  the  war  had  caused  the  administration  Acceptance 
to  depart  still  farther  from  the  path  of  strict  construction  construction. 
from  which  Jefferson  himself  had  begun  to  stray.     The  new 
war  leaders  were  inspired  by  a  love  of  the  Union,  and  favored 
an   active  policy  which  required  liberal   national   powers. 
Therefore   Congress  adopted  more  and  more,   in  spite  of 
occasional  protests  and  checks,  the  Hamiltonian   policy  of 
broad  construction.     It  is  not  altogether  fantastic  to  say  that 
Hamiltonian  policies,  carried  out  in  the  Jeffersonian  spirit, 
formed  the  political  code  of  the  new  period. 

With  these  favoring  conditions,  the  Supreme  Court,  Activity  of 
under  the  leadership  of  John  Marshall,  began  a  series  of  court!PI 
great  decisions  which  crystallized  this  constitutional  theory 
and  gave  it  permanence.  In  1803  the  Court,  in  the  case  of 
Marbury  v.  Madison,  declared  that  a  law  of  Congress, 
when  repugnant  to  the  Constitution,  was  void.  In  1810, 
in  the  case  of  Fletcher  v.  Peck,  it  decided  that  the  national 
Constitution  forbade  a  state  to  violate  a  contract  made  with 
a  private  person.  In  1819,  in  the  famous  case  of  Dartmouth 
College  v.  Woodward,  the  Court  accepted  the  argument  of 
Daniel  Webster,  the  counsel  for  the  college,  that  a  charter 
of  a  private  corporation  is  a  contract  within  the  meaning  of 
the  Constitution  and  cannot  be  impaired  by  state  law.  In 
the  case  of  the  United  States  v.  Judge  Peters,  in  1809,  the 
Court  asserted  the  supremacy  of  the  national  courts  over 
the  state  authorities.  In  the  case  of  Martin  v.  Hunter's 
Lessee,  in  1816,  the  Supreme  Court  accepted  an  appeal  from 
the  decision  of  a  Virginia  court,  on  the  ground  that  the  inter 
pretation  of  the  national  Constitution  was  involved;  and 
in  1821,  in  the  case  of  Cohens  v.  Virginia,  it  was  decided 
that  a  case  might,  if  the  interpretation  of  the  national  Con- 


130  THE  PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION 

stitution  were  involved,  be  transferred  from  the  state  to  the 
national  courts,  even  before  the  former  had  given  a  decision. 
These  last  two  rulings  brought  an  immense  amount  of  busi 
ness  to  the  national  courts,  and  therefore  increased  their 
prestige.  The  strict  constructionists  of  Virginia  were  seri 
ously  alarmed.  Official  protests  were  made,  and  John  Tay 
lor,  in  vigorous  pamphlets,  defended  the  state  courts,  but  no 
successful  method  of  checking  the  activity  of  the  national 
court  was  devised.  In  the  cases  of  McCulloch  v.  Mary 
land,  1819,  and  Osborn  el  al.  v.  The  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  1824,  the  doctrine  of  "implied  powers "  was  broadly 
affirmed,  Marshall  using  much  the  same  line  of  argument 
that  Hamilton  had  employed  in  1791  when  the  question  of 
the  first  United  States  Bank  came  up.  Of  very  great  and 
increasing  importance  is  the  case  of  Gibbons  v.  Ogden,  de 
cided  in  1824,  which  held  that  the  monopoly  of  steam  navi 
gation  in  the  waters  of  the  state,  which  the  New  York  legis 
lature  had  given  Fulton  and  his  patron  Livingston,  was  un 
constitutional  and  void  because  it  conflicted  with  the  power 
given  by  the  Constitution  to  Congress  to  regulate  interstate 
commerce.  This  decision  at  once  threw  open  all  the  navigable 
waters  of  the  country  to  competition,  and  it  became  the  start 
ing  point  for  the  interpretation  of  this  clause,  upon  which 
so  much  of  the  subsequent  legislation  of  Congress  has  rested. 
The  Court,  under  Marshall,  was  careful  to  guard  what 
it  held  to  be  the  rights  of  the  states,  as  in  the  case  of  Ogden 
v.  Saunders,  1827,  in  which  it  upheld  the  right  of  New 
York  to  pass  a  bankruptcy  act,  if  fairly  drawn  and  adminis 
tered,  and  thus  give  a  debtor  a  discharge  from  his  debts. 
Marshall,  indeed,  held  that  the  states  were  as  strictly  sover 
eign  within  the  range  of  their  powers  as  was  the  United  States 
government.  Yet  the  general  trend  of  his  decisions  was  in 
the  direction  of  nationalization  and  extension  of  the  functions 
of  the  general  government, 
influence.  No  series  of  judicial  decisions  ever  exerted  so  much 


PROVINCIALISM  131 

political  influence  as  these.  Framed  largely  by  one  mind 
and  upon  a  consistent  theory,  they  formed  a  starting  point 
from  which  the  Supreme  Court  has  developed  the  great 
structure  of  constitutional  law  as  it  stands  to-day.  Judge 
Marshall,  moreover,  wrote  unhampered  by  the  necessity  of 
constant  reference  to  preceding  cases  which  renders  judicial 
decisions  at  present  so  technical  and  difficult  of  understand 
ing  for  the  average  man.  His  style  was  simple  and  con 
vincing,  his  personality  venerable  and  sympathetic,  and,  far 
from  merely  reflecting  the  trend  of  thought,  he  was  a  de 
cided  factor  among  the  many  that  were  leading  the  nation 
to  think  nationally. 

A  less  attractive  manifestation  of  the  nationalistic  feeling  is  Provincial- 
noticed  by  travelers  writing  of  the  United  States  after  1815,  lsm" 
who  speak  of  a  certain  blatant  patriotism,  not  mentioned  by 
those  before  the  war.  The  typical  American  was  boastful 
of  himself,  of  everything  connected  with  him,  and  par 
ticularly  of  his  country.  This  patriotism  was  in  part  a  real 
sentiment  of  devotion  to  the  country  and  pride  aroused  by 
the  war.  It  was  in  part,  also,  the  result  of  provincialism. 
No  other  generation  of  Americans  has  ever  been  so  isolated 
from  the  European  world  as  that  which  flourished  between 
1815  and  1845.  The  close  of  the  Napoleonic  wars  brought  a 
period  of  comparative  international  quiet,  and  the  United 
States  was  allowed  to  disassociate  itself  from  the  course  of 
European  politics  in  which  it  had  been  involved  from  the 
beginning.  Foreign  affairs  ceased  to  be  a  leading  subject 
of  party  division,  and  became  to  a  very  large  extent  an 
administrative  question. 

This  provincialism  was  intensified  by  the  condition  of  Decline  of 
the  United  States  trade.  The  European  peace  not  only 
put  an  end  to  the  difficulties  of  neutral  trade,  it  put  an  end 
to  the  trade  itself.  It  was  now  possible  for  the  French  to 
carry  their  cargoes  in  their  own  vessels.  The  business  of 
importing  goods  into  the  United  States  to  reexport  them  to 


I3  2 


THE  PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION 


Decline  of 
New  Eng 
land  com 
merce. 


other  countries  continued  to  decline,  slowly  in  amount,  rapidly 
in  comparison  with  our  total  trade.  In  carrying  foreign  goods 
from  one  foreign  port  to  another,  our  vessels  encountered 
many  restrictions  intended  to  protect  the  merchant  marines 
of  the  various  countries  involved,  and  the  carrying  trade 
diminished.  The  direct  trade  between  the  United  States 
and  foreign  countries  grew  during  the  first  part  of  this  period 
at  a  much  smaller  rate  than  the  wealth  of  the  country.  The 
consequence  was  that  even  the  commercial  bonds  with  the 
outside  world  were  considerably  weakened.  The  United 
States  was  as  much  isolated  as  it  is  possible  for  a  nation  to  be 
under  the  conditions  of  modern  civilization. 

This  diminished  importance  of  trade  particularly  affected 
New  England,  which  had  always  profited  largely  by  handling 
the  goods  of  other  sections  and  countries.  Some  merchants 
fought  against  the  new  tendencies.  With  the  renewal  of 
peace  they  expected  trade  to  revive,  and  in  the  interests  of 
trade  they  called  for  a  reduction  of  the  doubled  war  duties, 
for  stricter  navigation  acts,  and  for  treaties  providing  for 
reciprocal  privileges  to  level  the  barriers  being  raised  against 
them  in  Europe.  In  Congress  their  demands  were  pressed 
by  Daniel  Webster,  who  had  succeeded  Josiah  Quincy  as 
the  representative  of  solid  New  England  business  interests. 

The  really  ample  protection  that  was  obtained  from 
the  navigation  acts,  combined  with  the  natural  advantages 
which  New  England  possessed  in  building  wooden  ships, 
caused  a  revival  of  the  shipbuilding  and  shipowning  in 
dustry,  especially  after  1830.  These  vessels,  however,  were 
chiefly  employed  in  exporting  cotton  and  western  prod 
ucts,  and  New  York,  Baltimore,  and  other  ports  in  contact 
with  those  regions  profited  by  the  reviving  trade  more  than 
did  New  England.  Relatively  her  commerce  entered  upon 
a  slow  decline,  and  many  of  the  old  seaports,  as  Portsmouth, 
Newburyport,  Salem,  and  Newport,  passed  from  the  bustle 
of  life  into  a  dignified  old  age. 


NEW  ENGLAND  133 

New  England  no  longer  spoke  with  a  single  voice.  The  Rise  of  New 
embargo,  the  nonintercourse,  and  finally  the  war  had  acted  5aSvmLman' 
as  a  heavy  protective  tariff,  at  times  prohibitive,  in  favor  of 
American  manufacturers.  Many  New  England  merchants 
had  turned  their  capital  from  shipping  into  manufacture. 
They  found  that  New  England  possessed  an  almost  unex- 
ploited  source  of  wealth  in  the  abundant  and  perpetual  water 
power  furnished  by  its  swift  rivers.  The  population  was 
naturally  adapted  to  manufacturing,  for  the  spinning  wheel 
was  to  be  found  in  every  farmhouse,  and  the  bulk  of  the 
population  had  for  over  a  hundred  years  been  clothed  mainly 
with  the  products  of  domestic  industry.  With  capital, 
water  power,  and  skilled  labor,  the  factory  system,  which  had 
been  developing  in  England,  was  rapidly  and  successfully 
transplanted  to  New  England ;  and  about  the  river  falls  and 
rapids  arose  new  towns,  as  Lowell,  Pawtucket,  Central  Falls, 
Valley  Falls,  and  many  others.  To  the  English  inventions, 
brought  over  to  America  by  such  men  as  Samuel  Slater,  were 
added  those  of  American  inventors,  as  the  wool  card  of  Whit- 
timore  and  the  power  loom  of  Lowell.  By  1812  there  were 
within  30  miles  of  Providence  53  mills  with  48,000  spindles. 
In  1815,  500,000  spindles  and  76,000  persons  were  em 
ployed  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton,  chiefly  in  New  Eng 
land,  and  the  annual  output  of  woolens  was  estimated  to  be 
worth  $19,000,000. 

These  newly  rising  New  England  factory  centers  did  not  Factory  con 
reproduce  the  unfortunate  conditions  which  accompanied  ditlons- 
the  industrial  revolution  in  England.     The  factories  were, 
until  after  the  Civil  War,  widely  scattered  through  many 
towns,  and  the  employees  came,  to  a  large  extent,  from  the 
country  adjacent.    They  were  mostly  self-respecting  farmers' 
daughters,  who  looked  upon  the  experience  as  temporary, 
many  hoping  to  gain  money  for  education,  or  at  least  to  es 
cape  the  narrow  horizon  of  farm  life.     As  one  of  their  number 
subsequently  wrote:    "Just  such  girls  as  now  knock  at  the 


THE   PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION 


Reasons  for 
emigration 
from  New 
England. 


"In  clo 
sures." 


Improve 
ment  of  in 
ternal  trans 
portation. 


doors  of  the  Harvard  Annex  and  the  various  women's  col 
leges,  then  knocked  at  the  doors  of  the  Lowell  cotton  mills." 
In  some  of  the  towns,  particularly  in  Lowell,  the  mill  owners 
took  especial  care  to  guard  and  regulate  the  life  of  these 
working  girls. 

Neither  did  the  replacement  of  domestic  industry  by 
the  factory  system  lead  to  the  social  disorders  found  in  Eng 
land.  It  was,  of  course,  a  less  important  movement,  for 
home  labor  had  not  been  so  highly  developed  as  in  that 
country.  It  was,  moreover,  gradual,  and  during  many  years 
some  of  the  manufacturing  processes  were  performed  in  con 
nection  with  farm  labor.  As  manufacturing  became  more 
and  more  concentrated,  and  spinning  and  other  auxiliary 
occupations  disappeared,  many  of  the  smaller  and  less  fertile 
farms  did  indeed  become  unprofitable,  but  it  was  so  easy  for 
the  farmer  to  move  westward  that  instead  of  distress  at 
home  we  find  an  increasing  stream  of  westward  emigra 
tion. 

The  growth  of  manufacturing  was  reflected  on  the  out 
skirts  of  New  England,  in  western  Massachusetts,  Vermont, 
New  Hampshire,  and  Maine,  by  the  increase  of  sheep  raising 
to  supply  the  necessary  raw  wool.  In  1810  there  were  re 
ported  in  New  England  638,326  sheep;  in  1840,  3,617,305. 
This  replacement  of  crop  growing  by  sheep  raising  meant  en 
largement  of  farms,  and  the  employment  of  fewer  laborers 
in  proportion  to  the  area.  Here  again  a  movement  which 
had  caused  untold  distress  in  England  during  the  fifteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries  was  accomplished  in  America  so 
quietly  as  to  be  almost  unobserved,  owing  to  the  ease  with 
which  those  crowded  out  found  homes  in  the  West. 

The  new  factories  produced  so  much  more  than  had  the 
old  domestic  processes  that  markets  for  the  disposal  of  the 
product  were  needed  beyond  the  borders  of  New  England. 
During  the  embargo  and  the  war  such  a  market  was  found  in 
the  South  and  West,  but  the  difficulties  of  the  trade  were 


NEW  ENGLAND  135 

immense,  owing  to  the  lack  of  means  of  transportation.  As 
early  as  1790  many  turnpike  companies  had  been  organized, 
and  the  roads  were  steadily  improved.  Soon  after  there 
followed  many  canal  schemes,  largely  devised  by  the  mer 
chants  to  bring  in  the  country  products  to  some  port  from 
which  they  could  be  shipped  in  coasting  vessels.  With  such 
purpose,  connection  was  made  between  the  Merrimac  and 
Boston,  between  Worcester  and  Providence,  and  the  Con 
necticut  and  the  Merrimac  were  made  navigable  for  long 
distances.  After  the  war,  the  problem  of  the  western  trade 
became  more  and  more  important.  This  problem  was  more 
difficult.  It  was  necessary  to  drive  the  roads  and  canals 
over  the  mountains.  Portland  and  Portsmouth  discussed 
and  began  elaborate  undertakings  to  cross  the  Green  Moun 
tains  and  utilize  Lake  Champlain;  Boston  considered  the 
possibility  of  piercing  the  Berkshires  and  linking  itself  with 
Albany.  These  undertakings  were  too  extensive  for  the 
private  purses  of  the  merchants,  and  it  would  be  futile  to 
build  canals  in  New  England  unless  there  were  connections 
farther  west.  Many,  therefore,  began  to  look  upon  them  as 
national  undertakings,  and  to  believe  it  to  be  the  duty  of  the 
national  government  to  build  them.  Foremost  in  this  move 
ment  was  John  Quincy  Adams,  son  of  President  John  Adams. 
Having  served  as  a  Federalist  senator,  in  1808  he  broke  with 
the  Federalists,  and  was  now  high  in  the  councils  of  the 
Republican  party. 

As  the  means  of  transportation  improved,  not  only  did  other 
the  products  of  New  England  find  their  way  westward,  but  eSigrSioa 
western  foodstuffs  came  east  and  entered  into  competition 
with  those  of  the  New  England  farms.     Against  this  com 
petition  the  farmer  could  find  no  protection,  as  interstate 
trade  was  free  by  the  Constitution.     Many  sold  or  deserted 
their  farms  and  used  the  roads  which  had  ruined  them  to 
journey  to  new  opportunities  in  the  West. 

The  manufacturers  had  to    meet  in  the    southern  and  land  policies. 


136  THE  PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION 

western  markets  the  competition  of  the  English.  From  this 
competition,  however,  they  believed  that  their  still  "  infant 
industries"  could  and  should  be  protected  by  the  national 
government;  and  accordingly  they  petitioned  for  a  high 
tariff  so  arranged  as  to  offset  the  advantages  which  the 
English  still  possessed  because  of  a  low  cost  of  production. 
In  making  this  request  they  came  into  direct  conflict  with  the 
declining  commercial  interests,  which  were  opposed  to  all 
limitations  put  on  foreign  trade.  This  conflict  lasted  from 
1815  to  about  1830,  and  resulted  in  the  triumph  of  the  party 
of  protection.  By  1828  Webster  had  become  an  acknowl 
edged  champion  of  the  movement;  manufacture,  rather 
than  commerce  or  agriculture,  was  understood  to  be  the 
great  New  England  interest,  and  protection  and  internal  im 
provements  its  policies. 

Protection  in         The  Middle  States  —  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl- 
States!  vania,  and  Maryland — were  at  the  beginning  of  this  period 

more  solidly  in  favor  of  protection  than  was  New  England. 
Pennsylvania  had  been  the  first  state  in  which  manufactures 
became  important,  and  made  a  strong  demand  for  protec 
tion  of  industry,  in  this  case  chiefly  of  iron  instead  of  tex 
tiles  as  in  New  England.  There  were  more  than  three  times 
as  many  persons  engaged  in  agriculture  as  in  manufactures 
in  these  states,  but  the  agricultural  element  also  favored 
protection.  Peace  in  Europe  had  turned  thousands  of  Euro 
peans  from  soldiers  into  farmers,  and  the  demand  for  Ameri 
can  foodstuffs  almost  ceased.  Under  these  circumstances 
the  American  farmers  were  much  impressed  by  the  argu 
ment  that  it  was  advantageous  for  them  to  encourage  manu 
factures  in  order  to  build  up  a  home  market  for  their  prod 
ucts.  Such  a  home  market  would  not  only  consume  their 
surplus  food,  but  also  make  profitable  the  raising  of  raw 
materials,  such  as  wool.  The  development  of  grazing  was 
particularly  noticeable  in  western  New  York,  which  in 
1840  had  over  5,000,000  sheep,  and,  as  in  New  England,  re- 


THE  MIDDLE  STATES 


137 


U..POATU,  EN9'n,  N. 


ROADS  AND  TRUNK  CANALS  IN  1825 

It  will  be  observed  how  closely  this  road  map  resembles  a  present-day  rail 
road  map.  Both  followed  natural  geographic  routes.  At  this  period  the 
greater  proportion  of  bulky  articles  still  went  by  water. 


138  THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION 

suited  in  the  crowding  out  of  many  individuals  and  fami 
lies,  who  swelled  the  westward  flowing  stream. 

The  Middle  States  were  all  interested  in  the  improve 
ment  of  transportation.  The  growing  trade  of  the  West,  the 
manufactured  goods  which  it  imported,  whether  from  Eng 
land  or  from  New  England,  and  the  agricultural  products 
with  which  it  paid  for  them,  might  be  made  to  pass  through 
their  territory  if  the  mountain  barrier  could  be  pierced. 
This  great  prize  of  the  western  trade  was  the  object  of  vig 
orous  rivalry  between  the  ports  of  Baltimore,  Philadelphia, 
and  New  York.  The  last  mentioned  was  the  first  to  under 
take  a  radical  solution  of  this  truly  gigantic  task,  the  other 
two  being  better  served  by  roads  which  brought  in  a  drib 
bling  trade  from  the  Ohio  valley  and  deadened  greater  enter 
prises.  Here,  as  in  New  England,  such  an  undertaking  was 
too  great  for  individuals,  and  corporate  organization  was 
not  sufficiently  developed  in  America  to  attempt  it ;  but  un 
like  the  New  England  schemes,  this  project  fell  within  the 
limits  of  a  single  state.  DeWitt  Clinton  urged  that  New 
York  state  could  do  nothing  so  greatly  to  its  advantage  as 
to  construct  a  canal  up  the  Mohawk  valley  to  connect  with 
Lake  Erie.  He  overcame  the  opposition  of  those  who 
doubted  the  feasibility  of  the  plan  and  of  those  sections  of 
the  state  which  it  would  not  directly  benefit.  The  project 
was  definitely  accepted  in  1817,  and  in  1825  the  canal  was 
completed.  The  canal  cut  freight  rates  in  some  cases  to  a 
thirtieth  of  what  they  had  been,  and  yet  paid  for  itself  in 
nine  years.  It  was  to  the  Lake  region  what  the  Mississippi 
was  to  its  valley,  and  soon  canals  connecting  the  Lakes  with 
the  Ohio  drew  much  of  the  trade  of  that  region  to  New 
York.  The  ties  binding  the  Northwest  to  the  South  weak 
ened,  while  those  attaching  it  to  the  East  grew  stronger  with 
every  passing  year. 

Pennsylvania  was  stirred  by  this  success  into  activity, 
and  in  1824  appointed  a  canal  commission;  but  the  work- 


THE  SOUTHERN  STATES  139 

ing  out  of  the  plan  involved  much  greater  physical  difficul 
ties  and  more  violent  local  jealousies.  Although  a  route 
consisting  of  canals,  supplemented  by  an  inclined  plane  over 
the  highest  ridge,  was  completed  some  ten  years  later,  con 
necting  Pittsburgh  and  the  Susquehanna,  Philadelphia  did 
not  regain  its  lost  ground  until  the  railroad  era.  Baltimore 
was  still  more  active,  and  had  hopes  of  national  assistance, 
for  any  national  transportation  route  would  be  apt  to  fol 
low  the  Potomac,  through  the  western  part  of  Virginia,  to 
the  Ohio.  In  1823,  a  canal  convention  was  held  at  Wash 
ington  to  promote  such  a  design.  Ultimately,  however, 
Baltimore  capitalists  became  fearful  that  such  a  scheme 
would  benefit  Washington  too  exclusively,  and  as  early  as 
1827  they  planned  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  which 
was  intended  to,  and  for  a  time  did,  give  Baltimore  a  very 
large  share  of  the  Ohio  valley  trade.  The  hopes  of  Wash 
ington  rested  entirely  upon  Congress;  and  those  of  Rich 
mond,  —  based  on  the  routes  by  way  of  the  Potomac,  the 
James,  and  the  Kanawha,  —  although  they  antedated  all  the 
others  and  did  not  cease  to  be  of  moment  in  state  politics  un 
til  the  Civil  War,  continued  unfulfilled. 

Internal  improvements  and  the  tariff  were,  therefore,  the  Policies  of 
leading  political  issues  in  the  Middle  States,  and  while  a  de-  states! 
cided  majority  favored  the  tariff,  the  transportation  schemes 
tended  to  develop  state  rivalries  and  factions  within  the 
states  based  on  special  and  local  Jnte^rests. 

The  great  problem  of  transportation  and  the  great  prize  The  South 
of  the  western  trade  were  not  without  interest  to  the  South-  trnad<Tstern 
ern  States.     Charleston  and  Savannah  were  almost  as  near 
Cincinnati  and  Louisville  as  were  Philadelphia  and  Balti 
more,  but  the  mountain  ranges  between  were  recognized  by 
the  most  daring  engineers  as  impossible  for  canals,  and  no 
serious  efforts  at  competition  were  made  until  the  develop 
ment  of  railroads.     Such  projects  as  were  seriously  devised 
and  executed  were  of  a  local  nature  to  bring  the  country 


140  THE   PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION 

produce  to  some  seaport,  as  were  the  canals  about  Boston 
and  Providence.  Charleston  in  particular  was  served  by  a 
mesh  of  canals  making  most  of  the  Carolina  rivers  tributary 
to  her  harbor. 

increase  of  The  attention  of  the  South  was  increasingly  absorbed  by 

thecotton       the  Develoment  Of  cotton  culture.     The  invention  of  Eli 


^ 

Whitney's  cotton  gin  in  1792  made  cotton  growing  profitable. 
Cotton  rapidly  displaced  indigo  in  the  tidewater  region  of 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  and  arrested  the  development 
of  rice  growing.  It  was  soon  found  that  the  short  staple 
cotton,  which  could  be  grown  on  the  uplands,  was  almost  as 
valuable  as  the  long  staple  of  the  coast,  and  the  farmers  of 
the  piedmont  region  abandoned  in  large  measure  the  culture 
of  cereals  for  the  new  crop.  In  1800  the  total  product  was 
about  35,000,000  pounds,  of  which  17,790,000  were  exported, 
worth,  at  New  York  prices,  about  $9,000,000.  In  1820 
the  product  was  160,000,000  pounds,  of  which  127,860,000 
pounds,  worth,  at  Liverpool  prices,  $27,000,000,  were 
exported. 

Revival  of  The  culture  of  cotton  was  peculiarly  well  adapted  to 

the  employment  of  slave  labor.  Its  simple  requirements, 
not  involving  the  use  of  expensive  machinery,  gave  system 
atic  employment  for  three  quarters  of  the  year.  Hence 
there  was  no  call  for  the  diversification  of  industry  for  which 
slave  labor  is  usually  inadequate.  The  low  cotton  plants, 
moreover,  allowed  the  overseer  to  superintend  a  large  gang 
of  workers  in  a  manner  impossible,  for  instance,  in  a  corn 
field  late  in  the  year.  The  price  of  slaves,  which  had  dropped 
very  low  when  the  mountains  checked  the  western  spread  of 
tobacco  growing,  now  rose.  In  1808  the  international  slave 
trade  had  been  forbidden,  in  spite  of  some  opposition.  This 
limitation  of  the  supply  of  slaves,  at  the  same  time  that  the 
demand  was  increasing,  made  this  rise  unusually  sharp.  The 
average  value  of  a  good  field  hand  about  the  time  of  the 
introduction  of  cotton  culture  was  $200;  in  1815,  $250; 


THE  SOUTHERN  STATES  141 

in  1836,  $600.  This  rise  benefited  Virginia  and  Maryland, 
where  slave  property  had  become  somewhat  of  a  drug  on 
the  market.  Now,  some  of  the  surplus  was  sold  to  the 
cotton  states.  The  improvement  in  slave  values  checked 
the  rise  of  antislavery  feeling.  This  had  never  been  strong 
in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  and  now  even  in  North 
Carolina,  Virginia,  and  Maryland  there  developed  the  feel 
ing  that  though  slavery  was  evil,  it  was  necessary.  The 
spread  of  slaveholding  into  the  upland  region  diminished 
the  friction  between  those  districts  and  the  coast,  and  tended 
to  produce  a  solidarity  of  interest,  especially  in  South  Caro 
lina,  where  the  agreement  of  1808  marked  the  close  of  sec 
tional  conflicts  between  the  coast  and  the  piedmont,  and 
gave  the  state  a  political  unity  that  very  much  contrib 
uted  to  its  political  weight. 

As  in  the  case  of  tobacco,  the  spread  of  cotton  culture  Spread  of  the 
went  hand  in  hand  with  the  spread  of  the  plantation  system*  sys?em!°n 
The  increase  in  production  meant  a  progressive  decline  in 
price,  and  the  cultivators  felt  the  constant  desire  to  increase 
their  landholdings  and  the  number  of  their  slaves,  in  order 
to  maintain  their  incomes.  The  successful  planters  came 
to  hold  constantly  larger  investments,  and  the  unsuccessful, 
to  sell  out  and  depart  for  other  regions.  As  plantations 
spread  into  the  uplands,  many  of  the  non-slaveholding  farm 
ers  of  those  districts,  some  galled  by  their  inferior  social  and 
economic  position,  and  some,  such  as  the  Quakers  of  North 
Carolina,  by  their  dislike  of  slavery,  moved  to  the  north 
west,  across  the  Ohio.  Consequently  the  advance  of  the 
cotton  plantation  pushed  before  it  into  the  West  a  consider 
able  proportion  of  the  white  population. 

The  absorption  of  the  population  in  one  industry  led  to  Economic  de- 
a  growing  dependence  of  the  Cotton  South  upon  the  rest  of  f^e  SouCth°f 
the  world.     While  the  bulk   of   its  foodstuffs  was  always 
produced  at  home,  it  came  to  depend  for  a  larger  and  larger 
proportion  of  them  upon  the  states  to  the  northwest.    In  the 


142 


THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION 


Protection  in 
the  South. 


Fall  in  the 
price  of 
cotton. 


latter  part  of  the  twenties  a  million  dollars'  worth  of  live  stock, 
chiefly  sheep,  cattle,  and  hogs,  came  annually  through  the 
Cumberland  and  Saluda  gaps  into  South  Carolina,  and  with 
the  building  of  railroads  came  corn  and  also  wheat.  At  the 
same  tune  the  factory  system  failed  to  develop  and  the  pop 
ulation  relied  for  cloth  and  tools  and  luxuries  upon  England, 
France,  and  New  England. 

In  1816  the  great  political  leaders  of  the  cotton  belt, 
Lowndes  and  Calhoun,  were  strongly  in  favor  of  a  protective 
tariff.  They  felt  the  nationalistic  impulse  of  the  war  and 
wished  to  make  the  United  States  self-sufficing;  they  were  not 
yet  convinced  that  the  South  might  not  share  in  the  develop 
ment  of  manufactures.  The  South  had  been  on  a  par  with 
the  rest  of  the  country  in  the  production  of  cloth  by  house 
hold  spinning  and  weaving.  North  Carolina  in  1810  pro 
duced  more  than  all  New  England.  Southern  dealers  did 
not  yet  realize  that  factory-made  cloth  would  drive  domestic 
manufacturers  from  the  market,  or  that  the  factory  system 
would  not  develop  in  the  South.  Moreover,  the  "home 
market"  argument  appealed  to  them.  England  levied  an 
import  duty  on  cotton,  which  New  England  could  not  do. 
Again,  a  large  portion  of  the  cotton  goods  imported  into  the 
United  States  was  made  of  cotton  grown  in  India.  To 
keep  out  such  goods  and  build  up  American  manufactures 
would  mean  a  larger  and  steadier  market. 

This  opinion  changed  decisively  and  with  great  rapidity 
as  the  result  of  changing  circumstances.  The  increasing 
production  of  cotton  brought  down  the  price.  The  aver 
age  price  of  "  middling  uplands,"  the  standard  American 
cotton,  in  Liverpool  fell  from  36.50  cents  a  pound  in  1816,  to 
23  cents  in  1820;  in  1821,  it  was  16.46,  in  1822,  13.90,  and 
only  once  again  before  the  Civil  War  did  it  reach  as  high  as 
20  cents.  Indian  cotton  was  driven  out  of  competition,  and 
the  cotton  belt  assumed  at  once  a  commanding  position  as 
holding  a  world  monopoly.  At  the  same  time,,  the  processes 


THE  SOUTHERN  STATES  143 

of  manufacture  were  cheapened,  and,  with  the  lower  cost,  the 
demand  for  cotton  goods  and,  therefore,  for  raw  cotton  con 
tinually  expanded.  It  became  no  longer  an  object  to  the 
southern  planter  to  secure  a  home  market ;  it  was  as  profitable 
to  sell  to  Europe  as  to  New  England.  A  United  States  duty 
on  raw  cotton  could  not  enhance  its  price  here,  as  the  com 
petition  was  among  American  producers.  Nor  did  the  pro 
tective  tariff  on  cotton  cloth  cause  manufacturing  to  develop 
in  the  cotton  district.  On  the  contrary,  the  factory-made 
cloths  of  England  and  the  North  drove  the  spinning  wheel 
from  farm  and  plantation.  At  the  same  time,  the  planter 
did  not  obtain  the  full  benefit  of  the  cheapening  processes 
of  manufacture,  because  of  the  tariff,  which  enabled  the 
American  manufacturers  to  keep  up  prices  in  spite  of  the 
declining  cost  of  production.  McDuffie  of  South  Carolina, 
the  leading  exponent  of  the  anti-tariff  sentiment,  said  of  the 
bill  proposed  in  1824  :  "Whatever  may  be  its  effect  upon  the 
domestic  manufactures,  I  speak  advisedly  when  I  say,  it  will 
operate  as  a  tax  upon  the  people,  to  the  extent  of  at  least 
four  million  of  dollars,  and  whether  the  proceeds  of  this  tax 
shall  go  into  the  national  treasury,  or  into  the  pockets  of  in 
dividuals,  the  thing  about  which  there  can  be  no  doubt  is, 
that  the  tax  will  be  paid  by  the  people." 

The  very  decrease  in  the  price  of  cotton,  which  gave  the  Cotton  and 
South  its  undisputed  monopoly,  made  its  opposition  to  l 
the  tariff  more  bitter.  Part  of  this  decrease  was  due  to  a 
lower  cost  of  production  resulting  from  better  agricultural 
methods,  better  means  of  internal  transportation,  lower 
freight  rates  across  the  ocean,  resulting  from  the  increasing 
competition  of  English  vessels,  and  declining  cost  of  manu 
factured  foods.  Much  of  the  decrease  of  price,  however,  was 
taken  from  the  profits  of  the  planter.  That  this  was  so  all 
could  feel,  but  how  it  happened  few  could  satisfactorily  ex 
plain.  There  could  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  a  serious  blow 
to  the  rising  prosperity  of  South  Carolina  and  the  settled 


144  THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION 

portion  of  Georgia.  Some  planters  could  keep  up  their  net 
incomes  by  increasing  their  plantations,  but  it  was  impossible 
greatly  to  increase  the  area  of  cotton  cultivation  within  the 
state,  and  the  total  income  of  the  state  was  therefore  dimin 
ished.  Moreover,  the  soil  was  beginning  to  be  exhausted  in 
the  oldest  regions;  for  under  the  crude  methods  employed, 
twenty-five  years  of  continuous  cotton  crops  left  it  almost 
worthless.  This  depression  in  the  prosperity  of  the  South 
was  attributed  in  very  large  measure  to  the  tariff,  and 
through  that,  to  those  sections  of  the  country  which  upheld 
it.  McDuffie  said  in  1828:  "Individuals  are  always  open 
to  impressions  of  generosity.  But  classes  of  the  community, 
and  sections  of  country,  when  united  and  stimulated  by 
the  hope  of  gain,  being  destitute,  like  corporations,  of  indi 
vidual  responsibility,  are,  like  them,  destitute  of  hearts  and 
souls  to  feel  for  the  wrongs  and  sufferings  they  inflict  upon 
others." 

Spread  of  The  most  potent  cause  of  the  lower  price  of  cotton,  how- 

culture  ever,  was  the  opening  up  of  new  cotton  areas  in  other  states — 

Alabama,  Tennessee,  and  Mississippi ;  and  the  more  the  de 
pression  was  felt  in  the  older  region,  the  more  rapidly  the  ex 
pansion  went  on.  While  one  stream  of  population  was  flow 
ing  out  to  the  free  states  of  the  northwest  to  win  small  farms 
by  manual  labor,  another,  composed  largely  of  men  with 
capital  in  money  and  slaves,  was  directed  southward  and 
westward  in  the  hope  of  opening  new  plantations  under 
more  favorable  conditions.  It  was  significant  of  the  differ 
ence  in  the  character  of  these  two  streams  that  in  1818  land 
offered  for  sale  by  the  government  in  Alabama  for  agricultural 
purposes  sold,  in  some  cases,  for  as  much  as  $107  per  acre, 
while  the  average  price  in  Missouri,  where  most  of  the  pur 
chasers  were  of  the  individual  pioneer  type,  was  a  little  over 
$2,  the  highest  being  $10.  Between  1824  and  1841  the  average 
annual  cotton  production  of  the  South  Atlantic  States  in 
creased  only  from  433,000  bales  to  529,000,  while  that  of  the 


THE  SOUTHERN  STATES  145 

Gulf  States  grew  from  253,000  to  1,030,000.  While  this 
spread  of  the  cotton  area  led  to  the  economic  distress  of  the 
coast  by  continually  lowering  the  price  of  cotton,  it  added  to 
the  political  weight  of  the  "  Cotton  "  or  "  Lower  "  South. 
Ultimately  the  cotton  interests  gained  control  in  all  the 
seaboard  and  Gulf  states  from  South  Carolina  to  Mexico, 
and  all  became  conscious  of  a  common  interest  and  united  for 
a  single  purpose. 

The  process  by  which  this  political  unity  was  obtained  The  "  Cotton 
was  a  very  gradual  one.  The  young  planter,  flush  with  the 
rich  crops  of  a  new  section,  saw  matters  with  a  very  different 
eye  from  one  in  South  Carolina  struggling  to  keep  up  ap 
pearances.  Moreover,  while  cotton  stretched  out  over  the 
best  land  and  that  most  accessible  to  transportation/ —  over 
the  "  Black  Belt,"  —  the  poorer  and  more  remote  regions  of  the 
South  were  occupied  by  the  small  farms  of  non-slaveholding 
whites.  The  gradual  processes  by  which  the  plantation 
system  spread  over  the  lower  South,  and  by  which  all  classes 
became  united  in  the  support  of  slavery  and  what  came  to 
be  known  as  "  Southern  Rights,"  are  the  leading  features  of 
southern  history  from  the  War  of  1812  to  that  of  1860,  and 
are  illustrated  particularly  by  the  career  of  Calhoun,  who 
came  to  be  the  national  spokesman  of  the  section. 

Somewhat  distinct  from  the  rest  was  the  newly  admitted  Sugar 
state  of  Louisiana.  New  Orleans  was  in  large  measure  the  c 
port  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  and  a  larger  proportion  of  the 
population  of  the  state  was  engaged  in  commerce  than  in  any 
other  state  of  the  Union.  Every  improvement  in  the  navi 
gation  of  the  river  or  its  tributaries  increased  trade,  every 
improvement  in  means  of  transit  across  the  mountains 
might  diminish  it.  Moreover,  Louisiana's  leading  native 
product  was  sugar,  and  as  it  was  impossible  to  produce 
enough  to  supply  the  United  States,  the  tariff  might  be 
arranged  to  raise  the  price  and  increase  the  incomes  of 
the  producers.  Thus  Louisiana  was  vitally  interested  in 


146  THE  PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION 

the  two  problems  of  internal  improvements  and  the  tariff, 
and  was  on  the  tariff  question  divided  from  the  Cotton 
South.  Both  sections,  however,  employed  the  plantation 
system,  and  in  the  end  this  proved  a  bond  stronger  than 
that  binding  Louisiana  to  the  North. 

Spread  of  the  Most  conservative  of  all  the  sections  was  the  Appalachian 
frontier.  Mountain  region,  the  old  frontier  of  the  Confederation ;  but 
beyond  the  mountains  there  was  growing  up  a  new  frontier, 
the  center  of  the  bustling  activity  of  the  period.  Into  it 
were  flowing  streams  of  population  from  all  the  other  sections, 
the  predominating  tone  being  given  by  the  people  from  the 
old  frontier.  Around  the  southern  end  of  the  mountains, 
and  down  the  long  valleys  from  Virginia  and  thence  through 
the  passes  into  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Tennessee,  came 
picturesque  caravans  of  planters  with  their  slaves,  in  search 
of  new  fields.  Northward  through  Cumberland  Gap  and 
down  the  Kanawha  valley  and  over  the  Cumberland  Road, 
when  it  was  completed,  poured  a  constant  stream  of  emigrants, 
seeking  better  opportunities,  and  freedom  from  the  galling 
competition  of  slave-owning  capitalists.  The  roads  of  Penn 
sylvania  were,  at  seasons,  literally  thick  with  emigrants  from 
the  eastern  states.  After  1825  the  Erie  Canal  began  to  be  the 
great  avenue  for  New  Englanders  and  emigrants  from  central 
New  York,  directing  them  into  the  Lake  region,  which  until 
then,  for  lack  of  means  of  access,  had  lagged  behind  the  Ohio 
valley.  The  peopling  of  the  Mississippi  valley  and  the  Lake 
region  in  this  transition  period  was  one  of  the  greatest  move 
ments  of  population  the  world  has  ever  seen.  Five  terri 
tories  there  —  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Mississippi,  and 
Alabama  —  quickly  became  so  populous  that'  they  were 
admitted  as  states  between  1816  and  1821.  In  1810  the 
frontier  districts  contained  about  1,200,000  inhabitants;  in 
1830,  4,200,000.  The  great  bulk  of  this  population  con 
sisted  of  men  and  women,  in  the  prime  of  life,  who  had  them 
selves  moved  into  their  new  homes. 


THE  FRONTIER  147 

The  major  problem  of  this  region  was  transportation.  Transporta- 
Much  had  already  been  done.  The  acquisition  of  Louisiana  M^sfeJppi 
had  cleared  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  in  1807  Fulton  valley- 
produced  the  first  practicable  steamboat.  These  two  events 
worked  together.  The  rapid  current  of  the  Mississippi  had 
made  it  almost  useless  as  an  inlet  for  merchandise,  although 
goods  could  be  easily  enough  floated  down  on  rafts,  which 
were  afterwards  broken  up  and  sold  for  lumber.  With  the 
aid  of  steam,  boats  could  go  up  as  well  as  down.  In  1811 
there  was  launched  at  Pittsburgh  the  first  of  the  river  fleet 
of  steamers,  the  New  Orleans,  with  a  ship-shaped  hull  and 
side  wheels.  Soon  a  new  type  was  evolved,  more  suited  to 
the  western  waters :  a  raft-like  hull,  drawing  very  little  water, 
on  which  was  raised  a  superstructure  of  one,  two,  three,  or 
four  decks  or  stories,  and  with  a  great  driving  wheel  at  the 
stern.  Such  vessels  could  cross  shallows  and  run  rapids, 
and  they  multiplied  marvelously.  In  1820  there  were  60  in 
the  Mississippi  basin ;  in  1830,  as  many  as  230.  This  natural 
navigation,  however,  by  no  means  answered  the  needs  of  the 
West.  Every  farmer  could  appreciate  the  advantage  of 
direct  connection  over  the  mountains  with  the  eastern  mar 
kets,  and  the  limits  of  navigation  could  be  greatly  extended 
by  a  few  judiciously  planned  improvements  such  as  canals 
about  rapids  or  cutting  off  detours,  and  the  building  of  sup 
plementary  roads. 

The  attempts  at  solving  the  problems  of  internal  im 
provement  in  the  valley  were  all  affected- by  the  absence  of 
capital.  Few  of  the  settlers  brought  much  with  them,  and 
in  the  few  years  of  settlement  little  had  accumulated.  There 
was,  therefore,  a  large  party  in  favor  of  securing  national 
assistance  for  the  accomplishment  of  these  undertakings. 
Others,  opposed  to  the  interference  of  a  governing  body  so 
far  away  and  not  under  their  control,  favored  some  scheme  for 
increasing  the  resources  of  the  several  states,  such  as  the 
grant  of  unsold  land  within  their  borders.  Still  another 


148 


THE  PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION 


State  banks 
of  issue. 


The  "  Ameri 
can  system." 


proposition  was  for  the  states  to  provide  capital  by  generous 
emissions  of  paper  money.  As  the  states  were  forbidden  by 
the  Constitution  to  issue  bills  of  credit,  this  end  was  obtained 
by  the  creation  of  banks,  some  owned  in  part  by  the  state  gov 
ernments,  some  entirely  private,  and  all  having  practically 
unrestricted  power  of  issue.  The  extinction  of  the  National 
Bank  in  1811  withdrew  a  regulative  influence,  and  between 
1811  and  1816  the  number  of  banks  in  the  country  trebled, 
and  their  issues  of  bank  notes  grew  from  $45,000,000  to 
$100,000,000.  The  majority  of  these  banks  were  poorly 
managed,  particularly  in  the  West.  In  1814  all  those  out 
side  of  Massachusetts  suspended  specie  payment,  and  the 
value  of  the  paper  currency  varied  widely.  In  1813  and  1814 
forty  banks  of  issue  had  been  chartered  in  Kentucky ;  other 
states  were  equally  lavish,  and  loose  supervision,  combined 
with  the  lack  of  necessary  business  experience,  brought  wide 
spread  ruin. 

On  the  subject  of  the  tariff  also  the  frontier  was  divided. 
Owing  to  the  great  expense  of  transportation,  a  small  amount 
of  manufacturing  had  sprung  up  in  Kentucky  early  in  the 
century,  and  this  gave  a  temporary  support  to  the  protective 
movement.  Although  this  development  was  checked  when 
the  importation  of  such  products  from  Europe  and  the  east 
ern  states,  where  more  abundant  capital  and  denser  popula 
tion  made  manufacturing  thrive  more  naturally,  became  prac 
ticable,  the  protective  sentiment  was  fostered  by  the  fact  that 
a  tariff  might  help  the  farmer  indirectly  by  the  building  up 
of  a  home  market,  and,  in  the  case  of  certain  raw  materials, 
directly  by  protective  duties.  Kentucky  planters  became  in 
terested  in  the  production  of  hemp,  and  farmers  north  of  the 
Ohio  in  that  of  sheep  and  hides.  Their  interests  conflicted 
somewhat  with  those  of  the  eastern  manufacturers,  who  wished 
these  raw  materials  to  be  as  cheap  as  possible ;  but  here  were 
the  elements  of  a  bargain,  such  as  has  marked  almost  all 
tariff  bills.  The  tariff  could  be  so  framed  as  to  be  of  advan- 


ACTUAL  DEMOCRACY  149 

\/ 

tage  to  both  western  farmer  and  eastern  manufacturer.  More 
over,  a  high  tariff,  as  conceived  at  that  time,  meant  increased 
revenue,  and  hence  was  favored  by  those  who  wished  the 
national  government  to  aid  in  internal  improvements.  These 
two  ideas  were  combined  by  one  of  the  two  great  representa 
tives  of  the  frontier,  Henry  Clay,  with  that  of  having  the 
national  government  distribute  among  the  states  the  pro 
ceeds  of  the  sales  of  public  lands,  and  the  combination  was 
labeled  the  "American  system."  In  general,  apart  from  the 
particular  interests  which  varied  from  locality  to  locality, 
the  people  of  the  frontier  divided  on  these  subjects  according 
to  fundamental  political  principles.  Those  who  believed  in 
exerting  the  powers  of  the  government  to  aid  the  individual 
favored  the  American  system ;  those  who  preferred  to  be  let 
alone  opposed  it;  but  in  1815  this  division  was  by  no  means 
clearly  marked. 

In  all  sections  there  was  growth,  activity,  and  change.  Actual 
For  the  first  time  travelers  were  impressed  with  the  nervous  d 
energy  of  Americans.  The  "quick  lunch"  was  at  once  a 
symptom  of  the  new  spirit  and  a  cause  of  the  sallow,  un 
healthy  complexion  which  was  equally  a  subject  of  comment. 
A  new  impulse  had  taken  hold  of  the  nation ;  it  had  awakened 
to  a  realization  of  the  tremendous  economic  possibilities 
which  lay  before  it.  Other  nations  have  had  similar  out 
bursts  of  activity  when  vistas  of  progress  have  been  opened 
before  them;  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  never  before  has  a 
whole  nation  been  so  thrilled,  because  never  before  has  so 
great  a  prospect  been  offered  so  freely  to  every  individual 
citizen.  The  possibility  that  any  boy  might  aspire  to  be 
come  president  or  to  make  a  fortune  was  undoubtedly  a  great 
stimulating  motive  that  spurred  the  entire  population  to  un 
precedented  exertions.  The  advanced  doctrines  of  the  Rev 
olution  were  just  coming  to  be  true  in  actual  life ;  and, 
unquestioned,  unqualified  by  the  limitations  of  experience, 
they  were  the  real  inspiration  of  the  people. 


THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION 


Democracy 
in  politics. 


Party  or 
ganization, 


This  democratic  spirit  naturally  extended  to  politics.  In 
the  old  states  constitutions  were  altered,  particularly  in 
Connecticut  in  1818,  and  in  New  York  and  Massachu 
setts  in  1821,  in  the  direction  of  universal  suffrage  and  popular 
election  of  all  officers.  In  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  the  term 
of  judges  was  limited.  In  the  new  states,  the  constitutions 
were  framed  on  even  more  popular  lines.  Where  no  changes 
were  made,  as  in  Rhode  Island,  there  was  popular  dissatis 
faction.  The  growth  of  democratic  feeling  is  also  indicated 
by  the  change  in  the  method  of  choosing  presidential  electors. 
In  1824  six  states  continued  to  leave  their  appointment  to 
the  legislature;  in  1828,  there  were  only  two;  in  1832  and 
thereafter,  South  Carolina  stood  alone. 

In  New  England  and  the  other  eastern  states  the  more 
democratic  elements  were  bound  somewhat  closely  together 
in  party  organization.  In  each  state  there  were  well-rec 
ognized  leaders  or  groups  of  leaders,  such  as  the  Albany 
Regency  which  gained  control  of  New  York  during  the  twen 
ties.  These  leaders  generally  arose  to  power  by  the  clever 
manipulation  of  politics  in  their  particular  localities,  and  were 
in  touch  with  local  leaders  in  every  township  or  county, 
whom  they  held  by  the  gift  of  public  offices.  The  spoils 
system  was  now  fully  recognized  in  New  York  and  Penn 
sylvania,  and  by  this  type  of  politician  in  New  England  and 
elsewhere.  The  local  leaders  often  gained  their  power  by 
combining  all  elements  dissatisfied  with  the  existing  authori 
ties,  and  when  once  in  power  they  sought  to  retain  it  rather 
by  organization  and  avoidance  of  issues  upon  which  people 
were  divided  than  by  the  active  advocacy  of  a  positive  pro 
gram.  At  this  period  few  men  could  rise  to  the  position  of 
state  "boss"  unless  personally  honest  and  possessing  some 
of  the  qualities  of  statesmanship;  but  many  of  their  lieu 
tenants,  particularly  those  controlling  the  cities,  were  without 
principle  and  were  in  politics  simply  for  what  they  could  get 
out  of  it.  Throughout  this  period  these  leaders  were  con- 


FRONTIER  DEMOCRACY  151 

tinuously  endeavoring  to  get  control  of  the  national  govern 
ment  that  they  might  divide  the  national  spoils.  As  the 
progress  of  democratic  sentiment  is  illustrated  by  the  choice 
of  presidential  electors  by  popular  vote  instead  of  by  the 
legislature,  the  development  of  party  organization  is  to  a 
slight  degree  shown  by  the  spread  of  the  general  ticket  at 
the  expense  of  the  district  system  of  election.  Party  leaders 
felt  keenly  the  difference  in  the  political  weight  of  a  state 
that  was  sure  to  cast  its  entire  electoral  vote  in  one  scale  or 
the  other,  as  compared  with  one  which  habitually  divided  it, 
as  did  Maryland.  When  the  change  of  a  few  hundred  popu 
lar  votes  might  mean  the  gain  or  loss  of  many  electoral  votes, 
every  inducement  would  be  offered  to  influence  those  who 
held  the  balance.  In  1824  five  states  used  the  district  sys 
tem;  in  1828,  four;  in  1832,  only  Maryland;  in  1836,  none. 

In  the  plantation  area,  both  the  old  tobacco  region  and  plantation 
the  new  cotton  belt,  the  structure  of  society  and  political  democracy- 
methods  were  very  little  affected  by  the  new  growth  of  de 
mocracy.  The  governing  class  readily  admitted  to  itself  all 
who  won  economic  success,  and  the  laws  were  democratic  in 
appearance,  but  the  actual  practice  was  aristocratic.  Such 
democracy  as  existed  in  these  states  was  in  those  districts 
into  which  the  plantation  system  did  not  extend.  Neverthe 
less,  a  democratic  sentiment  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the 
constitutions  of  the  newer  states  in  the  South  gave  repre 
sentation  in  the  legislatures  according  to  white  population, 
which  favored  the  poorer  sections ;  whereas  the  older  states 
counted  some  proportion  of  slaves,  thus  increasing  the  power 
of  the  planters  who  owned  them. 

In  the  Mississippi  valley  political  democracy  was  the  nat-  Frontier 
ural  result  of  a  real  equality.     It  took  its  form  largely  from  dem°Gracy- 
the  habits  acquired  in  the  old  mountain  frontier.     It  was  a 
democracy   without    organization,    depending   on   personal 
leadership.     It  was  an  equality  without  specialization.    The 
man  most  successful  as  an  Indian  fighter  was  expected  to 


152  THE  PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION 

make  the  best  judge  or  the  best  congressman.  While  a  leader 
was  trustworthy  and  represented  the  interests  of  his  followers 
he  could  count  on  their  support.  If  he  were  victorious,  he 
was  expected  to  punish  his  enemies  by  turning  them  out  of 
office,  and  to  reward  his  friends  with  the  vacated  positions. 
On  simple  political  questions  the  people  were  intelligent 
and  independent,  well  trained  through  the  necessity  of  self- 
government  in  their  own  communities.  They  ware  unwilling 
to  accept  the  authority  of  experts  even  on  such  matters  as 
diplomacy  and  finance,  and  were  suspicious  of  what  they 
could  not  see  and  understand.  Administrative  red  tape, 
such  as  had  been  evolved  at  Washington,  seemed  to  them  but 
a  veil  to  hide  peculation  and  fraud.  They  chafed  under  a 
government  managed  decorously  by  middle-aged  gentlemen 
from  Virginia  and  New  England. 

State  rights  This  frontier   democracy  cared   little  for   the  fine-spun 

construction,  constitutional  controversies  which  had  divided  parties  in  the 
past.  Its  members  revered  the  Constitution  as  the  emblem  of 
the  Union  which  had  done  and  was  to  do  much  for  them ; 
they  appealed  to  it  when  Congress  seemed  likely  to  interfere 
with  their  own  freedom  of  action  or  that  of  their  state ;  but 
the  majority  of  them  would  readily  brush  it  aside  if  it  stood 
in  the  way  of  any  measure  they  wished  the  government  to 
undertake.  They  were  generally  in  favor  of  state  rights, 
but  they  were  not  strict  constructionists. 

Religious  de-  Unlike  the  Revolutionary  generation,  that  which  was  now 
velopment.  arismg  was  religious  and  emotional.  Religion  took  on  the 
prevailing  democratic  spirit.  In  Massachusetts  the  Unita 
rian  element  ceased  to  lay  stress  on  the  negation  of  points  of 
doctrine,  and,  under  the  leadership  of  Buckminster  and  Chan- 
ning,  began  to  lay  emphasis  on  the  positive  side  of  their  be 
lief,  the  nobility  of  man.  In  1820  the  Unitarians  definitely 
separated  themselves  from  the  Congregationalists,  and  their 
societies  spread  rapidly  through  and  beyond  New  England. 
In  the  theology  of  Emerson  the  democratic  spirit  reached 


RELIGIOUS   DEVELOPMENT  153 

its  supreme  point.  He  put  into  the  mouth  of  Jesus  the  words  : 
"I  am  divine.  Through  me  God  acts;  through  me,  speaks. 
Would  you  see  God,  see  me:  or,  see  thee,  when  thou  also 
thinkest  as  I  now  think!"  The  spread  of  Unitarianism  in 
this  region  was  checked  only  by  the  work  of  men  like  Horace 
Bushnell  of  Connecticut,  who  harmonized  the  Calvinistic 
theology  with  the  new  spirit  of  democracy.  Still  more  rapid 
was  the  growth  of  the  Methodists,  Baptists,  Universalists, 
Disciples  of  Christ,  and  similar  denominations  whose  systems 
were  equally  democratic  and  whose  methods  were  more 
emotional.  In  the  West,  this  spirit  showed  itself  rather  by 
methods  of  work  than  by  theological  adjustment.  The 
itinerant  preacher,  in  his  house-to-house  rounds,  found  more 
fruitful  ground  for  his  religious  teaching  because  his  visits 
made  one  of  the  few  breaks  in  the  monotony  of  the  isolated 
frontier  life.  The  revivalist  sought  to  stir  his  hearers,  not 
only  to  spiritual  emotion,  but  to  physical  manifestations  of 
it  in  shouts  and  lamentations  and  even  to  such  outward 
and  visible  signs  of  a  changed  life  as  "treeing  the  devil"  with 
the  ever  ready  firearm.  The  camp  meeting,  with  its  pro 
longed  picnic  features,  combined  needed  social  relaxation 
with  the  odor  of  sanctity.  The  sects  that  succeeded  were 
those  that  adapted  themselves  to  the  needs  of  a  people  re 
ligious  at  heart,  but  unable  to  grasp  theological  distinctions, 
and  unwilling  to  be  bound  by  what  seemed  to  them  the  cold 
conventions  of  ordered  religious  observances. 

The  religious  spirit  was  also  deeply  humanitarian,  and,  Humanita- 


now  and  again,  took  form  in  crusades  for  the  betterment  of  n 

mankind,  for  the  heathen,  the  insane,  the  drunkard,  the 
negro,  women,  children,  the  ignorant,  and  the  poor.  Natu 
rally  such  a  period  found  expression  in  literature.  In  the 
excitement  just  preceding  the  War  of  1812,  William  Cullen 
Bryant  and  Washington  Irving  began  to  write.  In  1815  the 
North  American  Review  was  founded.  In  the  transitional 
period,  Emerson,  Hawthorne,  Holmes,  Poe,  Whitman,  and 


154 


THE   PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION 


Sources. 


Historical 
accounts. 
General  con 
ditions. 

Constitu 
tional 
questions. 


many  others  of  the  greatest  American  writers  and  thinkers 
passed  their  boyhood,  to  attain  man's  estate  and  take  up 
their  life  work  during  the  thirties. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES 

For  a  general  course  the  opinions  of  Judge  Marshall  afford 
satisfactory  constitutional  assignments,  disregarding  the  opinions 
of  other  judges.  See  Constitutional  Decisions  (ed.  by  J.  P. 
Cotton,  Jr.)  or  the  following  references:  Chisholm  v.  Georgia 
(1793) :  2  Dallas,  419.  Marbury  v.  Madison  (1803) :  i  Cranch, 
137 ;  Thayer,  J.  B.,  Cases,  107-114.  United  States  v.  Judge  Peters 
(1809):  5  Cranch,  115;  Marshall,  Writings,  119-125.  Fletcher 
v.  Peck  (1810) :  6  Cranch,  87;  Thayer,  Cases,  114-123.  Gib 
bons  v.  Ogden  (1824) :  9  Wheaton,  184.  Martin  v.  Hunter's 
Lessee  (1816) :  i  Wheaton,  304;  Marshall,  Writings,  525-555. 
Dartmouth  College  v.  Woodward  (1819):  4  Wheaton,  518;  Mar 
shall,  Writings,  188-210.  McCulloch  v.  Maryland  (1819) :  4 
Wheaton,  316;  Marshall,  Writings,  160-187.  Cohens  v.  Virginia 
(1821);  6  Wheaton,  264;  Marshall,  Writings,  221-261.  Osborn 
et  al.  v.  The  Bank  of  the  United  States  (1824) :  9  Wheaton,  738 ; 
Marshall,  Writings,  315-342.  Travelers'  impressions  of  the 
United  States  are  perhaps  more  valuable  for  this  period  than  any 
other.  Early  Western  Travels,  edited  by  R.  G.  Thwaites,  contains 
a  mine  of  supplementary  reading.  Paulding,  J.  K.,  Letters  from 
the  South,  and  Tudor,  W.,  Letters  from  the,  Eastern  States,  are  among 
the  best  on  those  sections.  Callender,  G.  S.,  Economic  History, 
359-373  (Transportation),  and  487-561  (Tariff),  contains  usable 
selections.  The  Works  of  H.  Clay,  V,  461-480,  and  D.  Webster, 
III,  94-149,  contain  important  speeches  on  the  tariff.  Where 
the  Annals  of  Congress  are  available,  the  debates  of  the  i4th  Con 
gress  are  suitable,  especially  i  sess.,  684-688  (Speech  of  John 
Randolph  on  the  tariff).  See  also  Taussig,  F.  W.,  State  Papers 
and  Speeches  on  the  Tariff,  252-385. 

Adams,  H.,  Administrations  of  Jefferson  and  Madison,  IX, 
175-242.  Schouler,  J.,  United  States,  II,  505-516.  Turner,  F.  J., 
Rise  of  the  New  West,  10-67. 

Babcock,  American  Nationality,  290-309.  Cooley,  Judge  T.  M., 
and  others,  Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States  as  sew 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 


155 


in  the  Development  of  American  Law.  Farrand,  The  First  Hay- 
burn  Case  (Am.  Hist.  Review,  XIII,  281-285).  Thayer,  J.  B., 
Marshall.  Story,  J.,  Commentaries,  sees.  1033-1044;  1259-1281; 
1374-1397;  1685-1688.  Turner,  F.  J.,  New  West,  299-306. 

Bretz,  J.  P.,  Postal  Extension  into  the  West  (Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,   Transporta- 
Report,  1909,  143).     Hulbert,  A.  B.,  Historic  Highways  of  America   tion- 
(especially,  Cumberland  Road,  Great  American  Canals,  Portage  Paths, 
Waterways  of  Westward  Expansion).     McMaster,   United  States, 
IV,  381-429.     Monette,  J.  W.,  Progress  of  Navigation  (Miss.  Hist. 
Soc.,  Publications,  VII,  479).     Richardson,  Messages,  II,  142-183 
(veto  message  of  Monroe).    Turner,  New  West,  96-111. 

Boggess,  A.  C.,  Settlement  of  Illinois.   Brigham,  A.  P.,  Geographic   Migration. 
Influences,  ch.  V.    Callender,  G.  S.,  Economic  History,  313-320, 
597-610.    Faust,  A.  B.,  German  Element,  I,  chs.  XIII,  XIV.    Hins- 
dale,  B.  A.,  Old  Northwest,  295-328,  368-392.     Matthews,  L.  H., 
Expansion  of  New  England,  178-224. 

Stanwood,    E.,   American    Tariff    Controversies,    I,    111-157.   The  tariff. 
Stevens,  W.   P.,  Foreign  Trade  of  the  United  States,  1820-1840 
(Journal  of  Pol.  Econ.,  VIII,  348-452).     Turner,  New  West,  224- 

245- 

Commons,  J.  C.,  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Cotton. 
Society,  II  (U.  B.   Phillips),   165-299.     Hammond,  M.   B.,   The 
Cotton  Industry  (Am.  Econ.  Assoc.,  Publications,  new  series,  no.  i). 

Fish,  C.  R.,  Civil  Service,  79-104.     Murdock,  J.  S.,  First  Na-  Politics. 
tional  Nominating  Convention  (Am.  Hist.   Review,  II,  680-682). 
Walton,   J.  S.,  Nominating  Conventions   in   Pennsylvania    (Am. 
Hist.  Review,  II,  262-278). 


CHAPTER  X 

POLITICS   DURING   THE   PERIOD    OF    TRANSITION, 
1815   TO    1829 

The  Four-  THE  Fourteenth  Congress,  which  met  in  December,  1815, 

C°n"  was  one  °^  *ke  most  talented  ever  elected.  Only  about 
the  year  1850,  when  as  at  this  time  the  leaders  of  a  passing 
generation  served  side  by  side  with  those  rising  into  power,  has 
there  been  another  such  aggregation  of  talent.  As  the  elections 
ia  most  states  had  been  held  in  the  dark  days  of  the  fall  of 
1814,  a  large  number  of  Federalists  had  been  chosen;  they 
numbered  65  out  of  182  in  the  House  and  14  out  of  36  in  the 
Senate.  With  Jeremiah  Mason,  Rufus  King,  and  Robert 
Goodloe  Harper  in  the  Senate,  and  Webster  and  Pickering  in 
the  House,  they  could  match  their  representation  in  any 
Congress  for  ability.  Among  the  Republicans  were  Macon, 
Randolph,  and  William  Pinkney  of  the  older  generation ;  and, 
of  the  younger  generation,  Calhoun,  Lowndes,  R.  M.  John 
son,  McLean  of  Ohio,  and  Henry  Clay,  the  Speaker.  The 
youthful  element  were  in  control,  and  they  went  blithely  to 
work  to  heal  the  wounds  of  the  war,  and  to  solve  the  newly 
arising  problems. 

The  cur-  The  most  pressing  question  was  that  of  the  currency. 

Specie  was  extremely  rare;  in  Boston  only  New  England 
bank  notes  were  at  par;  those  of  New  York  were  at 
fourteen  per  cent  discount ;  those  of  Baltimore  and  Phila 
delphia,  at  sixteen  per  cent,  and  those  of  the  western  banks 
at  a  still  lower  rate.  These  rates  varied  from  time  to 
time  and  from  place  to  place ;  notes  valuable  at  home 
declined  as  they  were  taken  away,  for  their  value  depended 

156 


MADISON'S   ADMINISTRATION  157 

on  personal  knowledge  of  the  banks  and  their  directors.  The 
government  found  itself  embarrassed  even  more  seriously 
than  were  the  private  interests,  for  it  collected  money  in  one 
place  that  must  be  spent  at  another,  and  these  inequalities 
caused  it  the  utmost  inconvenience.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  Dallas,  had  recommended  in  1814  a  new  national 
bank,  and  it  was  even  then  evident  that  a  majority  could  be 
secured  in  its  favor,  in  spite  of  Republican  repugnance  to  a 
measure  so  distinctly  Hamiltonian. 

Its  establishment,  however,  was  delayed  by  a  difference  of  The  second 
opinion  as  to  its  form.  Calhoun  wished  a  distinctly  govern-  unhed  * 
meat  bank,  chartered  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  so  States- 
free  from  any  question  as  to  its  constitutionality.  Webster 
wished  a  bank  entirely  private  in  ownership  and  manage 
ment.  Dallas's  plan,  as  he  finally  presented  it,  was  for  a 
bank  modeled  very  closely  on  that  of  Hamilton.  In  such 
form  it  passed  the  Fourteenth  Congress.  The  capital  was  to 
be  $35,000,000,  one  fifth  in  cash,  the  remainder  payable  in 
United  States  securities.  One  fifth  was  to  be  subscribed  by 
the  United  States,  which  was  to  have  the  appointment  of 
five  of  the  twenty-five  directors.  It  was  hoped  to  have  the 
shares  widely  held,  and  therefore  their  par  value  was  fixed  at 
$100  instead  of  $400  as  in  the  case  of  the  first  National  Bank. 
The  Bank  was  to  establish  branches  in  the  several  states 
under  certain  conditions,  was  to  receive  government  deposits 
unless  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  could  show  Congress 
satisfactory  reasons  why  this  should  not  be  done,  and  was  to 
transfer  government  money  from  place  to  place  without 
charge.  It  could  issue  notes,  convertible  into  specie,  to  the 
full  amount  of  its  capital.  The  charter  was  to  run  until 
March  3,  1836,  and  the  corporation  was  to  pay  a  bonus  of 
$1,500,000  to  the  government.  Webster  secured  the  passage 
of  a  joint  resolution  requiring  that,  after  February  20,  1817, 
all  government  dues  be  collected  in  gold  and  silver,  athe 
legal  currency  of  the  United  States,  or  in  treasury  notes, 


Opposition 
to  Bank. 


The  tariff 
of  1816. 


POLITICS  OF  THE  PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION 


notes  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,"  or  "in  notes  of  banks 
payable  and  paid  on  demand"  in  specie. 

These  measures  and  other  favoring  circumstances  relieved 
the  government,  which  on  February  i,  1817,  resumed  the 
payment  of  its  obligations  in  specie.  Business,  however, 
did  not  at  once  recover.  The  National  Bank  was  at  first 
badly  managed,  recklessly  extending  credit  until,  in  1819, 
it  was  on  the  verge  of  ruin.  Langdon  Cheves  was  then 
made  president,  and  by  dint  of  rigid  economy  and  contrac 
tion  of  loans  saved  it,  after  a  stormy  period,  during  which  the 
whole  country  was  racked  by  a  financial  crisis.  Its  safety, 
however,  was  gained  at  the  expense  of  unpopularity,  due  to 
the  belief  that  Cheves  sacrificed  private  interests  to  the 
Bank  and  so  precipitated  the  crisis  of  1819.  Maryland, 
Ohio,  and  other  states  attempted  to  subject  its  branches  to 
heavy  taxes,  and  were  prevented  only  by  the  decisions  of  the 
Supreme  Court  declaring  such  action  unconstitutional.  This 
exemption,  giving  the  Bank's  branches  a  decided  advantage 
over  the  state  banks,  added  to  the  local  opposition  to  this 
great  national  financial  institution. 

In  the  meantime  Congress  was  considering  the  question 
of  the  revenue.  The  doubled  war  duties  would  soon  expire, 
and  the  manufacturers  petitioned  Congress  to  save  them 
from  the  overwhelming  competition  of  English  goods  that 
they  expected  when  this  took  place.  Madison  recommended 
a  limited  and  temporary  protection,  and  Dallas  proposed  a 
definite  scheme.  In  spite  of  opposition  from  the  Federalists 
representing  the  commercial  interests,  and  of  numbers  of  the 
old-school  Republicans  headed  by  Randolph,  the  bill  passed 
much  as  Dallas  proposed  it.  Upon  products  of  certain  well- 
established  industries,  such  as  carriages,  hats,  firearms,  shoes, 
and  paper,  the  duty  was  made  practically  prohibitive,  on  tbe 
ground  that  domestic  competition  would  keep  prices  down, 
and  the  market  could  thus  be  preserved  for  Americans  wiihr 
out  distressing  the  consumer.  On  cottons,  woolens,  and  iroi> 


MADISON'S   ADMINISTRATION  159 

of  which  we  should  be  obliged  to  import  some  proportion,  the 
duty  was  placed  high  enough  to  enable  the  domestic  manufac 
turers  to  compete  easily.  As  the  American  mills  produced 
most  extensively  the  cheaper  grades  of  cottons,  the  system  of 
minimum  valuation  was  adopted.  That  is,  all  cotton  cloth 
costing  less  than  25  cents  a  yard  was  valued  and  taxed  as  if  it 
cost  that  price.  As  the  price  of  cotton  cloth  rapidly  declined, 
this  afforded  the  New  England  mills  an  unexpected  amount  of 
protection.  In  the  case  of  iron  a  specific  rate  of  $1.50  per 
hundredweight  was  levied  on  rolled  iron,  and  corresponding 
amounts  on  other  grades,  thus  again  giving  the  manufac 
turers  the  advantage  of  any  diminished  cost  of  production. 
Upon  goods  not  successfully  produced  in  this  country,  it 
was  proposed  to  levy  such  duties  as  the  revenue  demanded. 
In  general  in  the  tariff  of  1816,  these  latter  revenue  duties 
ranged  much  lower  than  those  levied  for  protection.  Numer 
ous  local  battles  were  fought  on  particular  duties,  as  between 
the  rum  distillers  of  New  England,  who  wanted  molasses  to 
be  free,  and  the  sugar  growers  of  Louisiana,  who  wanted  it 
protected.  Louisiana  won,  the  duty  being  placed  at  five 
cents  per  gallon.  The  tariff  of  1816  was  the  first  framed  by 
Congress  on  distinctly  protective  lines,  and  it  was  afterwards 
contended  by  Calhoun  that  even  this  tariff  was  but  a  tem 
porary  expedient  and  did  not  commit  its  supporters  to  the 
policy  of  protection. 

The  tariff  of  1816  seemed  at  first  successful  both  as  a 
protective  and  as  a  revenue  measure.  The  debt  was  reduced, 
and  the  direct  taxes  and  the  excise  were  repealed  in  1816 
and  1817,  respectively.  The  crisis  of  1819,  however,  changed 
this  situation.  The  revenue  fell,  the  majority  were  unwilling 
to  restore  the  direct  taxes  and  the  excise,  and  the  result  was 
a  demand  for  an  increased  tariff.  This  demand  came  still 
more  loudly  from  those  who  felt  the  economic  pinch  of  hard 
times  and  looked  to  a  tariff  for  relief  from  their  personal  ills. 
The  movement  spread  and  became  organized.  Hezekiah 


,,;• 


160       POLITICS   OF  THE  PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION 

Niles,  who  published  at  Baltimore  the  powerful  weekly, 
Niles'  Register,  pushed  the  issue  in  every  number;  societies 
were  organized,  conventions  held  for  the  promotion  of  Amer 
ican  industry,  and  petitions  urged  Congress  to  act.  In  1820 
a  vigorous  effort  was  made  for  the  adoption  of  a  new  bill  with 
a  higher  range  of  duties.  This  bill  passed  the  House,  but  was 
defeated  by  a  very  close  vote  in  the  Senate.  The  cotton- 
growing  interests  had  become  thoroughly  hostile  to  protec 
tion  in  the  four  years  between  1816  and  1820,  and  voted 
solidly  against  it.  On  the  other  hand,  New  England  was  still 
divided.  Thirty-eight  New  England  members  voted  for 
the  bill,  fifteen  against  it,  and  thirteen  were  absent.  The 
movement  needed  to  become  still  more  popular  in  the  North 
and  West  to  overcome  the  united  opposition  of  the  South. 
Internal  im-  The  Fourteenth  Congress  applied  to  other  matters  the 

same  bold,  nationalistic  policy  which  it  adopted  in  the  case 
of  the  tariff  and  the  currency.  An  enlarged  navy  was  pro 
vided  for,  pensions  were  increased,  and  public  buildings 
ordered.  Particularly  noticeable  was  the  policy  with  regard 
to  internal  improvements.  Three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars  was  voted  for  the  completion  of  the  Cumberland 
Road  to  Wheeling,  and  at  its  second  session  the  bonus  from 
the  National  Bank,  and  the  dividends  on  its  stock,  were  as 
signed  as  a  fund  for  general  internal  improvements.  The 
changed  attitude  of  Congress  is  well  illustrated  by  a  letter 
written  by  Gallatin  in  May,  1816  :  "The  war  has  been  produc 
tive  of  evil  and  of  good,  but  I  think  the  good  preponderates. 
Independent  of  the  loss  of  lives  and  of  the  property  of  in 
dividuals,  the  war  has  laid  the  foundation  of  permanent  taxes 
and  military  establishments,  which  the  Republicans  had 
deemed  unfavorable  to  the  happiness  and  free  institutions 
of  the  country.  But  under  our  former  system  we  were  be 
coming  too  selfish,  too  much  attached  exclusively  to  the 
acquisition  of  wealth;  above  all,  too  much  confined  in  our 
political  feelings  to  local  and  state  objects.  The  war  has 


THE  ELECTION  OF  1816  l6l 

renewed  and  reinstated  the  national  feelings  and  character 
which  the  Revolution  had  given,  and  which  were  daily  les 
sening.  The  people  have  now  more  general  objects  of  at 
tachment,  with  which  their  pride  and  political  opinions  are 
connected.  They  are  more  Americans:  they  feel  and  act 
more  as  a  nation;  and  I  hope  that  the  permanency  of  the 
Union  is  thereby  better  secured." 

Congress,  however,  had  advanced  along  this  path  more  Congress 
rapidly  than  the  country,  and  was  destined  to  receive  two  chec  e  ' 
important  checks.  Madison,  representing  the  old  Republican 
spirit,  on  the  last  day  of  his  term  vetoed  the  " Bonus  Bill" 
for  internal  improvements,  on  constitutional  grounds.  The 
second  check  came  from  the  people.  Congress  had  voted  to 
raise  the  pay  of  its  members  from  $6  a  day  to  $1500  a 
year.  Against  this  the  democratic  sentiment  of  the  country 
revolted,  the  press  was  filled  with  denunciations,  very  many 
members  were  defeated  for  reelection,  and  so  popular  a  man 
as  Henry  Clay  barely  escaped  defeat.  The  new  Congress 
was  somewhat  more  democratic  than  its  predecessor.  It 
reduced  the  pay  of  its  members,  and  it  failed  to  pass  a 
national  bankruptcy  bill  strongly  desired  by  the  older  mon 
eyed  sections,  but  it  still  inclined  to  take  a  broad  nation 
alistic  position  on  questions  of  general  policy. 

The  absorption  of  the  Federalist  policies  by  the  Re-  The  election 
publicans  resulted  in  the  absorption  of  most  of  the  Federalist  ° 
voters;  and  Republican  success  in  the  presidential  election 
of  1816  was  a  foregone  conclusion.  Interest,  therefore,  cen 
tered  in  the  nominations.  The  administration  candidate 
was  James  Monroe,  Secretary  of  State.  Opposition  was  made 
to  him  on  the  ground  that  it  was  dangerous  and  unfair  to 
perpetuate  the  Virginia  dynasty.  New  York,  always  eager 
to  obtain  the  presidency,  presented  Governor  Tompkins,  a 
man  of  little  national  reputation,  and  a  hopeless  candidate. 
The  most  formidable  opposition  candidate  was  William  H. 
Crawford  of  Georgia,  now  Secretary  of  War,  soon  afterwards 


1 62       POLITICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  the  particular  friend  of 
Gallatin.  A  caucus  attended  by  119  of  the  141  Republican 
members  of  Congress,  nominated  Monroe  by  a  small 
majority  for  the  presidency  and  Tompkins  for  the  vice  presi 
dency.  This  action  was  acquiesced  in,  though  not  without 
a  murmur  as  to  the  dangerous  character  of  such  a  caucus. 
The  Federalists  simply  nominated  electors,  leaving  them  free 
to  vote  for  whomever  they  desired.  They  carried  only 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  Delaware;  and  Monroe 
received  183  electoral  votes  to  34  for  Rufus  King,  upon 
whom  the  Federalist  electors  united. 

Monroe's  ad-  James  Monroe  seems  to  have  resembled  Washington  in 
ministration.  cnaracter,  being  less  remarkable  for  particular  talents  than 
for  his  general  balance  and  sanity.  He  certainly  impressed 
contemporaries  who  knew  him  intimately  more  favorably 
than  he  does  modern  students  of  his  career.  As  a  diplomat, 
in  spite  of  an  obvious  liking  for  the  occupation,  he  was  a 
most  dismal  failure,  but  as  an  administrator,  as  governor 
of  Virginia,  and  as  Secretary  of  War  in  1814  and  1815, 
during  which  years  he  continued  to  serve  as  Secretary  of 
State  also,  he  was  decidedly  successful.  In  fact  his  may  be 
said  to  have  been  the  only  civic  reputation  enhanced  by  the 
war.  As  President  he  fully  lived  up  to  what  was  expected 
of  him,  and  came  to  be  venerated  by  the  people.  He  sur 
rounded  himself  with  a  cabinet  of  unusual  ability.  John 
Quincy  Adams  brought  to  the  state  department  an  expe 
rience  unparalleled  in  our  history,  and  an  ability  fully  equal 
to  his  experience.  With  an  outlook  more  cosmopolitan 
than  that  of  most  of  the  leaders  of  his  generation,  he 
was  one  of  the  firmest  in  his  assertion  of  American 
rights,  and  retained  the  unbending  conscience  and  strict 
moral  code  of  New  England.  He  was  painfully  eager  to 
succeed  Monroe,  and  he  constantly  suspected  the  motives  and 
methods  of  his  opponents.  Crawford  continued  at  the 
treasury  and  was  regarded  as  the  leading  candidate  for  the 


THE  SLAVERY  QUESTION  163 

succession.  The  probability  of  his  success  gave  him  a  large 
body  of  supporters  in  Congress,  and  he  contended  tenaciously 
for  full  control  of  the  patronage  of  his  department,  to  aid  in 
the  accomplishment  of  his  ambition.  John  C.  Calhoun,  Sec 
retary  of  War,  had  also,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  administra 
tion,  presidential  aspirations  and  seems,  for  a  time,  to  have 
been  Monroe's  favorite  candidate.  The  Attorney- General, 
William  Wirt,  was  an  able,  conscientious  public  servant,  who 
might  have  acceptably  filled  the  presidency,  but  was  not 
now  a  candidate.  With  men  of  such  capacity  and  political 
position,  the  cabinet  overshadowed  both  the  President  and 
Congress,  and  exercised  a  greater  power  than  ever  before  or 
since.  Yet  Henry  Clay,  Speaker  of  the  House,  and  repre 
sentative  of  the  growing  West,  had  his  own  ambitions,  and 
harassed  the  administration  by  a  dashing  opposition. 

The  great  crisis  of  Monroe's  first  administration  came,  Balance  of 
as  Jefferson  said,  "  like  a  fire  bell  in  the  night,"  and  yet  it  the  sections' 
had  for  a  long  time  been  preparing.  The  great  slavery 
compromises  of  the  Constitution  had  thus  far  served  to 
keep  that  question  in  the  background.  Nevertheless,  there 
were  occasional  controversies,  and  general  dissatisfaction 
with  the  institution  was  slowly  growing.  In  1808  the  slave 
trade  was  closed  by  act  of  Congress,  and  in  1820  it 
was  declared  to  be  piracy.  Sentiment  was  not,  however, 
strong  enough  to  secure  its  absolute  repression.  Still  the 
South  felt  that  now  it  had  secured  all  its  share  of  benefit 
from  that  particular  compromise,  while  the  commercial  states 
continued  to  enjoy  the  advantages  of  the  navigation  acts. 
In  the  North  there  was  a  growing  feeling  that  the  slave  popu 
lation  should  not  be  represented  at  all  in  the  national  legisla 
ture,  while  the  South  felt  keenly  the  fact  that  it  was  being 
outdistanced  by  the  North.  In  1790  the  states  south  of  the 
Mason  and  Dixon  line  had  a  total  population  of  1,925,000 
to  1,968,000  north  of  it,  which  gave  them  48  representatives 
to  57  in  the  House;  the  new  census  of  1820  would  show 


1 64       POLITICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION 

4,372,000  to  5,144,000  inhabitants,  which  according  to  the 
Federal  ratio  would  give  89  representatives  to  123.  Much 
of  this  change  was  due  to  the  migration  of  southern  whites 
to  the  Northwest.  While  the  slavery  interest  was  thus  los 
ing  in  the  House,  accident  and  agreement  had  managed  to 
keep  the  two  sections  equal  in  the  Senate.  Five  of  the 
original  thirteen  states  had  by  1789  adopted  the  policy  of 
emancipation,  either  immediate  or  gradual.  Vermont,  free 
since  1777,  was  admitted  in  1791 ;  New  York  and  New  Jersey 
in  1799  and  1804,  respectively,  changed  from  slavery  to  eman 
cipation,  and  Ohio  in  1803  was  admitted  as  a  free  state,  mak 
ing  nine  in  all  by  1804.  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  admitted 
in  1792  and  1796,  made  good  the  loss  of  New  York  and  New 
Jersey  to  the  list  of  slave  states,  and  Louisiana,  in  1812, 
brought  their  number  up  to  nine.  Thereafter  the  balance 
was  preserved  by  admitting  Indiana,  free,  in  1816,  Mississippi, 
slave,  in  1817,  Illinois,  free,  in  1818,  and  Alabama,  slave,  in 
1819. 

Attitude  to-  Interest   in   the  question   of    slavery  from   the   ethical 

slavery.  standp0int  seemed  to  have  declined.  After  the  abolition  of 
the  slave  trade  in  1808  the  antislavery  societies,  which  had 
at  one  time  been  quite  numerous  in  both  North  and  South, 
and  had  since  1793  held  an  annual  convention,  ceased  to  be 
active ;  and  they  were  succeeded  in  1816  by  the  Colonization 
Society,  many  of  whose  members  were  more  interested  in 
freeing  the  South  from  the  incubus  of  the  free  negro  tkan  in 
freeing  the  slaves.  This  society  began  a  settlement  called 
Liberia,  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  as  a  refuge  for  transported 
blacks,  but  its  efforts  are  said  to  have  relieved  the  country 
in  nineteen  years  of  the  natural  increase  of  only  nine  and  a  half 
days.  While  the  moral  issue  slumbered,  an  important  eco 
nomic  question  was  arising.  The  renewed  interest  of  the 
South  in  slave  labor,  and  the  rapid  expansion  westward  of  the 
plantation  system,  made  southern  statesmen  anxious  to  save 
as  much  as  possible  of  the  national  domain  for  slavery. 


THE  MISSOURI  QUESTION  165 

New  laws  were  fortifying  this  institution  at  home,  and  capi 
talists  of  southern  birth  were  endeavoring  to  overthrow  the 
prohibition  in  Indiana  and  Illinois.  On  the  other  hand  the 
moneyless  pioneer,  whether  from  a  free  or  a  slave  state,  was 
anxious  not  tCKgncounter  the  competition  of  the  plantation 
and  the  social  oEloQuyof  working  at  labor  shared  by  negro 
slaves.  This  struggle  between  the  systems  of  free  and  slave 
labor  approached  a  climax  when  the  frontier  of  population 
touched  territory  the  status  of  which  with  respect  to  slavery 
had  not  been  determined. 

In  December,  1818,  Missouri  petitioned  to  be  allowed  to  TheM/ssouri 
form  a  state  constitution.  An  enabling  bill  was  introduced  ^ 
into  the  House,  and  on  February  13,  1819,  Mr.  Tallmadge  of 
New  York  moved  to  amend  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  prohibit  the 
further  introduction  of  slaves  into  Missouri  and  to  provide  that 
the  children  of  slaves  already  there,  born  after  the  admission 
of  the  state,  become  free  at  the  age  of  twenty-five.  Thus 
amended  the  bill  passed  the  House,  but  Tallmadge's  amend 
ments  were  struck  out  in  the  Senate.  The  House  insisted  on 
its  amendments  by  a  vote  of  78  to  76,  and  consequently 
there  was  no  action  during  that  session  of  Congress.  The 
dispute,  once  started,  blazed  throughout  the  country.  Cobb 
of  Georgia  told  Tallmadge :  "  You  have  kindled  a  fire  which 
the  waters  of  the  oceans  cannot  put  out,  and  seas  of  blood 
can  only  extinguish."  The  fact  that  it  was  the  Senate  only 
that  prevented  the  passage  of  the  amendments  aroused  the 
South  to  the  necessity  of  preserving  its  political  balance  and 
the  equality  in  the  number  of  states.  The  North  was  stirred 
to  defend  the  interests  of  its  settlers,  and  to  prevent  any  in 
crease  in  the  slave  representation.  The  long  dominance  of 
the  South  in  national  politics  strengthened  the  popular  feel 
ing  in  the  North,  and  it  became  evident  that,  in  spite  of  the 
absence  of  agitation,  antislavery  feeling  was  developing. 

The  debate  in  Congress  brought  out  little  argument  in  The  Missouri 
favor  of  slavery  except  as  a  necessary  evil.    The  argument  of  debate- 


166       POLITICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION 

Clay  that  the  diffusion  of  slavery  would  weaken  and  amelio 
rate  it  was  a  popular  one.  The  main  contention  of  the  op 
ponents  of  restriction  was  that  Congress  had  no  right  to 
bind  a  state.  This  doctrine,  most  effectively  set  forth  in  the 
next  session  by  William  Pinkney  of  Maryland,  appealed 
strongly  to  the  state  rights'  advocates  of  the  South  and  West. 
It  was  no  new  or  theoretical  argument.  From  1805  to  1824 
the  central  point  of  Illinois  and  Indiana  politics  was  the 
question  whether  they  should  remain  bound  by  the  prohibi 
tions  of  the  Northwest  Ordinance.  Ultimately  the  majority 
decided  that  they  did  not  want  slavery.  If  they  had  decided 
differently,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  slavery  there  would  have 
been  prevented,  although  the  national  courts  might  have 
been  able  to  do  it.  The  leading  spokesman  of  the  restriction- 
ists  was  Rufus  King  of  New  York,  who  presented  many  in 
stances  of  such  conditions  applied  by  Congress  to  states,  in 
particular  those  which  had  been  applied  to  the  Northwest 
Territory,  and  a  number  contained  in  the  Louisiana  Purchase 
treaty.  The  popular  discussion  was  fully  as  keen  as  that  in 
Congress.  Legislatures  petitioned  Congress  on  the  one  side 
and  the  other.  John  Quincy  Adams  and  Calhoun  conversed 
on  the  possibility  of  a  separation  of  the  sections.  Adams 
believed  that  the  North  would  forcibly  prevent  such  action 
if  attempted  by  the  South. 

The  Missouri  When  Congress  came  together  again,  in  December,  1819, 
lse'  the  situation  was  complicated  by  the  request  of  Maine  for 
admission.  If  Congress  did  not  consent  before  March  4, 
1820,  the  permission  of  Massachusetts  for  such  a  division  of 
her  territory  would  be  withdrawn  and  the  opportunity  to 
form  an  additional  free  state  would  be  lost.  Under  this  pres 
sure,  a  compromise  was  brought  about.  Maine  was  to  be 
admitted  as  a  free  state,  and  Missouri  as  a  slave  state,  and 
in  the  remainder  of  the  Louisiana  territory  north  of  36°  30' 
(the  southern  boundary  line  of  Missouri)  slavery  was  to  be 
prohibited  forever.  In  the  House,  the  vote  for  this  latter 


MONROE'S   REELECTION  167 

clause  was  134  to  42,  of  whom  37  were  from  the  South. 
On  the  admission  of  Missouri  as  a  slave  state,  the  South 
was  solid  for  it,  the  Northwest  solid  against  ;  from  New  Eng 
land  seven  voted  for  it  and  from  the  Middle  States  eight, 
three  purposely  absented  themselves,  and  it  passed.  The 
compromise  thus  effected  Randolph  characterized  as  a  dirty 
bargain  of  eighteen  northern  "  dough-faces,"  an  epithet 
which  clung  for  years  to  northerners  voting  for  proslavery 
measures.  Monroe,  after  much  consultation,  signed  the  bill, 
probably  understanding  that  "forever"  meant  until  the  ter 
ritory  was  created  into  states,  thus  supporting  Pinkney  in 
the  view  that  Congress  could  not  bind  a  state. 

The  Missouri  question  broke  out  afresh  at  the  next  session,   Second  Mis- 


for  Missouri  had  adopted  and  asked  approval  for  a  constitu- 


tion  forbidding  free  colored  persons  to  settle  in  the  state,  thus 
abridging,  it  was  claimed,  the  rights  of  citizens  of  other  states. 
Debate  again  raged.  It  was  argued  that  Missouri  was  violat 
ing  the  Constitution,  and  on  the  other  hand  that  Missouri  was 
already  a  sovereign  state  and  could  not  be  disciplined.  In 
this  crisis,  Henry  Clay  succeeded  in  bringing  about  a  com 
promise,  admitting  Missouri  on  condition  that  the  obnoxious 
clause  should  never  be  construed  to  abridge  the  rights  to 
which  any  citizen  is  entitled  under  the  Federal  Constitu 
tion  ;  a  vague  and  imperfect  agreement,  which  neverthe 
less  served  its  purpose.  Good  feeling  was  in  large  measure 
restored,  and  the  struggle  over  slavery  was  postponed  for 
many  years. 

In  the  interval  between  the  two  Missouri  compromises  Election  of 
Monroe  was  quietly  reflected.     Only  one  electoral  vote  was   I  20* 
cast  .against  him,  although  the  Federalists  elected  a  fair 
number  of  congressmen  and  might  have  cast  some  electoral 
votes  had  they  decided  to  do  so.     Most  of  the  northern 
representatives  favoring  the  compromise  were  defeated,  but 
the  subsidence  of   the  slavery  issue  deprived   this   fact   of 
much  of  its  significance. 


IDS       POLITICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION 

The  second  administration  of  Monroe  saw  the  settle 
ment  of  a  question  that  had  long  been  troubling  the  govern 
ment.  During  the  Napoleonic  wars  the  American  colonies 
of  Spain  had  been  relieved  from  her  active  control,  revolu 
tionary  movements  had  been  started,  and  trade  relations  had 
sprung  up  which  the  inhabitants  were  loath  to  relinquish. 
These  relations  were  for  the  most  part  with  England,  and 
the  amount  of  trade  was  so  great  that  Napoleon,  when  at 
Elba,  stated  that  it  was  the  opening  of  this  new  outlet  for 
English  commerce  that  had  prevented  the  success  of  his 
continental  system.  From  1810  on,  Buenos  Aires  main 
tained  a  practical  independence,  although  it  was  not  declared 
until  1816.  Her  great  leader,  General  San  Martin,  in  1817 
crossed  the  Andes,  and  in  1818  won  the  independence  of 
Chile.  In  1821  he  drove  the  Spaniards  out  of  Peru.  In 
1817  a  successful  revolution  was  begun  in  Venezuela  under 
the  inspiration  of  Simon  Bolivar,  who  had  succeeded  to 
the  position  and  plans  of  Miranda  after  the  latter's  death  in 
1812.  Victorious  at  home,  he  pushed  the  Spaniards  from 
what  is  now  Colombia  and  Ecuador,  finally  defeating  their 
last  South  American  forces,  in  1824,  on  the  plateaus  of 
Upper  Peru,  which  was  renamed  Bolivia.  Somewhat  sim 
ilar  and  simultaneous  movements  freed  Mexico  and  Central 
America  from  Spain,  and  Brazil  from  Portugal. 

These  movements  excited  intense  interest  in  the  United 
States.  The  breaking  down  of  the  Spanish  colonial  empire 
seemed  to  open  broad  avenues  to  American  commerce,  and 
the  democratic  sentiment  of  the  country  thrilled  with  sym 
pathy  for  a  movement  so  like  our  own  struggle  with  England. 
While  there  was  substantial  agreement  that  Spain  could  not 
recover  her  American  possessions  and  that  no  other  country 
should  be  allowed  to  take  them,  there  was  divergence  as  to 
method.  Henry  Clay  represented  the  enthusiastic  public 
sentiment,  particularly  of  the  West,  and  urged  immediate 
action.  The  administration  saw  a  position  so  complex  and 


MONROE'S  SECOND   ADMINISTRATION  169 

difficult  that  it  dared  move  but  slowly,  and  secured  in  1817 
the  passage  of  a  neutrality  law  more  strict  than  that  of  1794, 
to  prevent  Americans  from  compromising  the  government 
by  equipping  vessels  or  expeditions  in  United  States  ports  to 
assist  the  revolutionists. 

John  Quincy  Adams  was  particularly  anxious  to  preserve  The  Florida 
the  fairest  appearance  of  neutrality  in  order  that  no  excuse 
might  be  given  for  European  intervention,  and  that  his 
negotiations  .for  the  purchase  of  Florida  might  proceed 
smoothly.  At  the  same  time  he  pressed  to  the  utmost  all 
advantages  against  Spain,  to  hasten  the  latter  negotiation. 
In  1812  Mobile  had  been  seized  as  a  part  of  the  Louisiana 
Purchase,  and  was  still  held.  In  1817  Florida  was  invaded 
by  American  troops  to  suppress  a  nest  of  pirates,  posing  as 
South  American  patriots,  at  Amelia  Island,  and  in  1818  a 
more  formidable  invasion  was  made  to  the  westward  to  punish 
certain  Indians  who  had  been  raiding  the  southern  part  of 
Georgia.  General  Jackson,  who  commanded  this  expedi 
tion,  conceiving  that  he  had  received  tacit  instructions  from 
Monroe  to  seize  Florida,  took  possession  of  all  the  western 
portion  of  that  province.  This  latter  action  was  disavowed 
by  the  United  States,  but  it  so  forcibly  illustrated  the  help 
lessness  of  the  Spanish  authorities,  and  Adams  so  firmly  in 
sisted  that  we  would  not  stand  annoyances  arising  from  her 
weak  government,  that  Spain  finally  consented  to  sell  what 
she  could  not  hold.  In  1819  a  treaty  was  made  which,  in 
addition  to  ceding  Florida,  defined  a  line  of  demarcation 
between  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  which  Spain  still 
held.  This  line  ran  irregularly  from  the  mouth  of  the  Sabine 
River  to  the  parallel  of  42°  north  latitude,  and  along  that 
parallel  to  the  Pacific.  This  line  was  unsatisfactory  to  some, 
particularly  to  Clay  and  to  Adams  himself,  because  it  left 
what  is  now  Texas,  to  which  we  had  a  somewhat  shad 
owy  claim  as  part  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  in  the  pos 
session  of  Spain ;  it  was,  however,  an  important  step  in  terri- 


170       POLITICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION 

torial  expansion,  because  it  gave  the  first  international  rec 
ognition  to  our  claim  to  extend  to  the  Pacific.  The  treaty 
was  not  ratified  until  February,  1821.  This  matter  settled, 
in  March,  1822,  recognition  was  given  to  certain  of  the  new 
Spanish-American  republics,  though  neutrality  was  still  main 
tained  between  them  and  Spain. 

The  Holy  In  the  meantime  this  American  difficulty  was  attracting 

the  attention  of  Europe.  The  leading  continental  powers, 
Russia,  Austria,  Prussia,  and  France,  were  united  in  the  Holy 
Alliance,  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  peace  and  monar 
chical  government.  Rebellion  after  rebellion  was  put  down  in 
Europe,  and  American  statesmen  had  well-grounded  fears 
that  the  establishment  of  peace  there  would  be  followed  by 
intervention  in  America.  The  crisis  came  in  1823,  when 
France,  as  agent  of  the  Alliance  suppressed  a  republican  rev 
olution  in  Spain,  and  order  seemed  to  be  established  through 
out  the  territories  of  the  Holy  Alliance  and  dependent  states 
except  the  American  colonies  of  Spain.  Fortunately  Eng 
land  was  as  unwilling  as  the  United  States  to  see  the  new 
republics  restored  to  their  former  condition  or  given  to  a  for 
eign  power.  There  was  much  sympathy  in  England  for 
liberal  government,  many  English  took  part  as  volunteers 
in  the  struggle  for  South  American  independence,  and  the 
English  merchants  did  not  wish  to  surrender  the  markets 
they  had  found  in  the  newly  opened  ports.  Canning,  the 
English  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  suggested  that  as  their 
interests  were  alike,  the  United  States  and  England  join  in 
protesting  against  the  threatened  intervention  by  the  allied 
European  powers.  President  Monroe  and  others  considered 
the  situation  so  critical  that  this  offer  by  Canning  ought  to 
be  accepted.  Adams,  however,  succeeded  in  convincing 
them  that  England,  because  of  her  interests,  would  oppose 
the  movement  whether  her  offer  was  accepted  or  not,  and 
that  we  should  avoid  such  an  entangling  alliance.  He  be 
lieved  that  the  United  States  was  the  leading  American 


THE  MONROE  DOCTRINE  171 

power,   and  should  not  admit  England  to  equal  coopera 
tion. 

In  December,  1823,  this  policy  was  announced  to  the  The  Monroe 
world  in  the  President's  annual  message.     It^va^state_d  that  Doctnne- 
-Europe  had  a  set  of  primary  interests  with  which  the  United 
States  would  not  interfere;  that,  in  return,  it  was  expected 
that  Europe  would  not  interfere  with   the  primary    inter 
ests  and  particularly  the  governmental  system  of  the  Ameri 
can   continents.   (j'With   the  existing  colonies  or   depend-- 
encies  of  any  European  power,  we  have  not  interfered,  and    • 
shall  not  interfere.     But  with  the  governments  who  have 
declared  their  independence,  ami  maintained  it,  and  whose 
independence  we  have,  on  great  consideration,  and  on  just 
^principles,  acknowledged,  we  could  not  view  any  interposition 
for  the  purpose  of  oppressing  them,  or.^ controlling,  in  any . 
other  manner,  their  destiny,  by  any  European  power,  in  any 
other  light  than  as  the  manifestation  of  an  unfriendly  disposi 
tion  towards  the  United  States.  ..."     Special  intimation 
was  given,  because  of  "the  encroachments  of  Russia  on  the 
northwest  coast,  that  the  era  of  colonization  was  over,  there 
being  no  longer  any  unclaimed  land  on  the  two  American 
continents. 

The  success  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  was  immediate  and 
lasting.  It  had  been  for  many  years  before  the  American 
Revolution  the  desire  of  the  people  of  the  American  colonies 
to  break  away  from  all  European  interference.  The  Revolu 
tion  had  only  partly  accomplished  this  separation,  the  close 
(of  the  Napoleonic  wars  made  it  actual,  and  the  Monroe 
Doctrine  applied  the  principle  to  both  American  continents 
and,  by  preventing  European  powers  from  obtaining  a  foot 
hold,  reduced  the  danger  of  future  complications.  In  Europe 
the  plan  of  intervention  was  abandoned,  Spain  ultimately 
acknowledged  the  independence  of  her  American  colonies,  and 
Russia  in  1824  consented  to  a  satisfactory  boundary  on  the 
northwest  coast.  Since  1823  no  European  country  has  at- 


172       POLITICS  OF  THE  PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION 

tempted  to  establish  new  colonies  in  America,  and  there 
has  been  only  one  dangerous  attempt  by  a  European  power 
to  overthrow  the  government  of  an  American  republic. 
Rivalry  of  The  immunity  of  Spanish  America  from  European  attack 

the? United"  was  at  this  time  due  more  to  the  British  fleet  than  to  Monroe's 
message ;  but  the  political  wisdom  of  Adams  in  refusing  to  co 
operate  with  England  was  at  once  shown.  The  designs  of 
England  in  America  were  less  obnoxious  than  those  of  the 
other  European  countries,  but  her  power  was  greater.  Eng 
land  was,  after  all,  the  great  rival  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
ideas  of  the  two  countries  were  essentially  divergent.  Can 
ning  highly  resented  the  claim  that  no  European  power  should 
interfere  in  America  and  the  attitude  of  leadership  assumed 
by  the  United  States  in  thus  laying  down  the  law  for  the 
American  continents.  There  at  once  arose  a  contest  between 
Adams  and  Canning,  which  continued  after  Adams  ceased 
to  be  Secretary  of  State  and  became  President,  for  the 
actual  primacy  in  Spanish  America.  Adams  urged  upon 
the  new  governments  the  advantages  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine ; 
he  negotiated  for  commercial  treaties,  and  in  1825  accepted 
an  invitation  to  send  delegates  to  attend  a  Pan-American 
Congress  to  be  held  at  Panama.  Canning  claimed  that 
Spanish  America  owed  its  independence  chiefly  to  English 
aid  and  the  protection  of  the  English  navy.  He  was  able  to 
offer  better  terms  and  so  secured  more  commercial  treaties. 
Moreover,  in  an  open  market  American  manufacturers  could 
not  compete  with  the  English.  The  result  was  that  England 
obtained  the  main  commercial  advantages  and  was  brought 
into  more  intimate  relationship  with  Spanish  America  than 
was  the  United  States.  While  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  sup 
ported  by  the  growing  power  of  the  United  States,  limited  the 
range  of  England's  activity  by  causing  her  to  refrain  from  a 
policy  of  territorial  acquisition,  the  rivalry  of  the  two  nations 
was  constant  throughout  the  nineteenth  century,  and  England 
was  the  dominant  power  in  the  Caribbean  Sea  almost  to  1900. 


THE  LAND   QUESTION  173 

In  domestic  policies,  the   direction   still   seemed  to  be  Nationalistic 
toward  a  broad  use  of  national  power.     Congress  voted  to    esislatlon- 
make  the  Cumberland  Road  a  turnpike  supported  by  tolls, 
but  this  was  prevented  by  a  veto  of  Monroe  in  1822  based  on 
constitutional  grounds.     Nevertheless  he  favored  an  amend 
ment  to  make  such  action  possible.     Congress  took  up  the 
problem  of  harbor  improvements,  and  in  1824  passed  a  bill 
providing  for  a  general  survey,  looking  toward  a  compre 
hensive  system.    In  1824  a  new  tariff  was  passed,  more  de 
cidedly  protectionist  in  character  than  that  of  1816. 

The  most  important  legislation  was  with  regard  to  public  The  land 
lands.  The  existing  system,  as  reorganized  in  1800  and  in  q 
1804,  provided  that  land  be  put  up  at  auction  and  sold  at  or 
above  the  minimum  price  of  $2  an  acre.  Land  not  sold 
at  auction  might  be  bought  at  private  sale  for  $2.  In 
either  case  at  least  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  had  to  be 
purchased,  and  a  limited  credit  was  given  for  three  quarters 
of  the  purchase  price.  This  system  encouraged  speculation; 
men  put  all  their  money  into  the  first  cash  payment,  buying 
as  large  an  area  as  possible,  and  trusted  to  the  future  for  the 
rest.  Many  became  insolvent,  and  their  distress  was  re 
doubled  by  the  crisis  of  1819.  It  was  estimated  that  in  1820 
half  the  heads  of  families  in  the  Northwest  owed  the 
government  for  land.  Gcrson  Flagg  wrote  from  Edwards- 
ville,  Illinois,  December  10,  1820:  "The  price  of  land  has 
fallen  more  than  half  —  a  bad  time  for  speculators  —  there 
are  many  here  who  paid  out  all  the  money  they  had  in  first 
installments  on  land  and  depended  on  selling  it  before  the 
other  payments  became  due.  And  as  the  price  of  land  is  now 
reduced  nobody  will  buy  it  at  the  former  price.  It  will  of 
course  revert  to  the  United  States  unless  Congress  does  some 
thing  for  their  relief."  Various  measures  were  taken  in 
1820  and  1821  to  relieve  this  situation.  The  minimum  price 
of  land  was  reduced  to  $1.25 ;  the  minimum  amount  to  be  sold 
was  reduced  to  eighty  acres,  and  the  credit  system  was 


174       POLITICS  OF  THE  PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION 


The  cam 
paign  of 
1824. 
Crawford. 


abolished.  Those  holding  land  unpaid  for  were  allowed  to 
pay  at  this  new  rate,  and  to  turn  over  to  the  government  a 
portion  of  their  land  as  payment,  keeping  such  amount  as 
their  payments  already  made  would  cover.  These  changes 
relieved  the  acute  distress.  By  the  end  of  the  next  adminis 
tration  the  public  land  system  was  on  a  businesslike  basis. 
There  was  a  demand  that  the  system  be  still  further  changed, 
that  the  idea  of  making  a  revenue  be  abandoned,  and  the 
land  opened  on  easier  terms  to  the  actual  settler,  but  while 
this  proposition  was  continually  agitated,  the  policy  was  not 
adopted. 

As  the  election  of  1824  approached,  the  contest  for  the 
succession  became  more  bitter.  The  friends  of  Crawford, 
believing  him  to  have  the  strongest  support  in  Congress, 
called  a  caucus,  as  had  been  the  custom.  It  was  held,  and 
recommended  Crawford  to  the  people  for  the  presidency  and 
Gallatin  for  the  vice  presidency.  The  friends  of  the  other 
candidates  refused  to  attend  the  caucus,  denounced  it  as  a 
corrupting  and  undemocratic  method  of  selecting  a  candidate, 
and  made  it  one  of  the  issues  of  the  campaign.  It .  was  said 
to  be  but  an  evasion  of  the  wise  provision  of  the  Constitution 
forbidding  congressmen  to  be  presidential  electors.  It  made 
the  President  dependent  on  Congress.  This  attack  injured 
Crawford,  particularly  in  Pennsylvania,  a  state  which  he  had 
hoped  to  win  by  the  selection  of  Gallatin  as  running  mate. 
The  legislative  caucus  had  long  been  a  local  issue  there, 
and  was  growing  increasingly  unpopular.  Crawford  received 
less  than  one  tenth  of  the  vote  of  that  state.  Crawford's 
campaign  was  further  hampered  by  his  physical  breakdown 
resulting  from  a  stroke  of  paralysis.  His  political  strength 
lay  in  Virginia,  where  he  was  considered  the  soundest  exponent 
of  the  old  Republican  principles,  to  support  which,  against 
the  attacks  of  Marshall,  many  of  the  best  minds  of  that  state 
were  now  rallying.  In  Georgia,  where  he  lived,  he  repre 
sented  a  similar  interest,  and  he  was  supported  in  New 


ELECTION  OF  1824  175 

York   by   Martin   Van   Buren   and   other   politicians.     He 
received  41  electoral  votes. 

John  Quincy  Adams  was  put  in  nomination  by  the  legis-  John  Quincy 
latures  of  Massachusetts  and  other  states,  but  it  was  claimed  A  ams' 
that  actually  his  nomination  involved  a  more  dangerous 
precedent  than  that  of  Crawford.  Madison  had  been  Secre 
tary  of  State  under  Jefferson,  Monroe  under  Madison,  now 
Adams  was  serving  under  Monroe.  Practically,  it  was 
argued,  the  President  chose  his  own  successor.  Adams  was 
in  favor  of  a  broad  nationalistic  policy  at  home,  and  his  con 
duct  of  foreign  affairs  had  been  admirable,  but  his  strength 
lay  in  the  fact  that  he  was  the  only  northern  candidate.  He 
received  84  electoral  votes,  including  all  those  of  New  Eng 
land,  26  out  of  36  in  New  York,  and  7  others  scattered  through 
Delaware,  Maryland,  Illinois,  and  Louisiana. 

The  policies  which  Adams  represented  in  the  North,  Clay  Clay  and 
represented  in  the  West.  He  had  expected  to  receive  the 
full  support  of  his  section  now  clamorous  for  recognition. 
This  hope  was  defeated  by  the  sudden  appearance  of  a  new 
candidate,  —  Andrew  Jackson,  the  victor  of  New  Orleans. 
The  conflict  between  these  rivals  began  in  1819,  when  Clay 
endeavored  to  have  Congress  censure  Jackson  for  his  conduct 
in  Florida.  Jackson  betook  himself  to  Washington  to  defend 
his  reputation.  He  gathered  friends  by  his  simplicity,  his 
dignified  bearing,  and  his  sterling  common  sense.  He  de 
feated  the  attack  of  Clay,  and  through  his  friendships  laid  the 
foundation  for  a  political  machine.  Carefully  advised  by  a 
group  of  able  friends,  he  grew  in  strength.  Clay  attacked  him 
as  a  military  chieftain,  a  new  Alexander  or  Caesar,  threaten 
ing  the  liberties  of  the  republic ;  but  his  quiet  demeanor  in  his 
public  progresses  reassured  the  people.  His  appeal  was  not 
so  much  on  particular  policies  as  on  the  general  ground  of 
democracy  and  opposition  to  the  bureaucratic  tendencies 
of  the  established  administration.  Many  felt  that  a  change 
was  needed,  a  man  of  the  people,  fresh  from  among 


176       POLITICS   OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION 


Election  in 
the  House. 


"Bargain 
and  corrup 
tion." 


them,  untainted  by  long  residence  at  Washington  and 
abroad. 

Clay  and  Jackson  divided  the  electoral  votes  of  the 
West,  33  to  29.  Elsewhere,  however,  Clay  received  only  4, 
while  Jackson  proved  to  be  the  only  candidate  with  national 
support.  He  divided  the  seaboard  South  with  Crawford, 
receiving  33  votes  to  the  latter's  36,  and  the  Middle  States 
with  Adams,  37  to  26.  In  all  he  received  99  votes,  New 
England  being  the  only  section  not  to  contribute  to  the 
number. 

Calhoun  was  elected  Vice  President  by  a  very  large  ma 
jority,  but  no  candidate  received  a  clear  majority  for  the  pres 
idency.  The  election  was  thus  thrown  into  the  House  of 
Representatives,  which  had  to  choose  between  the  three  re 
ceiving  the  highest  numbers  of  electoral  votes,  —  Jackson, 
Adams,  and  Crawford.  In  this  election,  according  to  the  Con 
stitution,  each  state  cast  one  vote,  decided  by  a  majority  vote 
of  its  representatives.  Clay,  excluded  from  the  competition, 
became  to  a  certain  extent  king  maker,  for  the  candidate 
he  favored  would  be  apt  to  receive  the  vote  of  the  Clay 
states.  His  preferences  and  vote  were  naturally  for  Adams, 
whose  general  views  were  the  same  as  his  own,  rather  than 
for  Crawford,  supposed  to  be  a  strict  constructionist,  or  for 
Jackson,  whom  he  had  so  violently  opposed.  The  vote 
was  taken  on  February  9,  and  Adams  was  the  choice  of 
thirteen  states,  Jackson  of  seven,  and  Crawford  of  four. 
Adams  was  therefore  declared  elected. 

Before  the  election  in  the  House  took  place,  a  Washington 
newspaper  published  a  letter,  the  authorship  of  which  a  Mr. 
George  Kramer,  a  member  of  Congress  from  Pennsylvania, 
afterward  acknowledged,  to  the  effect  that  Clay  was  negotiat 
ing  to  sell  his  support  for  the  position  of  Secretary  of  State. 
On  February  14  it  was  announced  that  Adams  had  decided 
to  offer  this  position  to  Clay.  This  was  at  once  hailed  by 
their  enemies  as  proof  of  the  charge.  The  administration  was 


ELECTION  OF  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  177 

attacked  as  founded  on  bargain  and  corruption.  John  Ran 
dolph,  referring  to  the  personal  habits  of  the  two  men,  —  the 
strictness  of  Adams's  and  the  somewhat  loose  life  of  Clay,  — 
characterized  it  as  a  combination  of  Blifil  and  Black  George, 
the  Puritan  and  the  Blackleg.  He  spoke  of  Clay  as  "this 
being  so  brilliant  and  so  corrupt  that  like  a  rotten  mackerel 
in  the  moonlight  shined  and  stunk."  Clay  fought  a  duel 
with  Randolph,  and  produced  evidence,  convincing  to  the 
historian,  of  his  purity  of  motive  in  supporting  Adams. 
Nevertheless  the  charge  was  widely  believed,  and  seemed 
to  confirm  in  the  public  mind,  particularly  in  the  cruder  por 
tions  of  the  country,  the  vague  suspicions  long  entertained  of 
public  immorality  at  Washington. 

Another  charge  of  much  greater  significance  was  made  Popular 
against  the  administration.  It  was  urged  that  the  election 
of  Adams  was  a  violation  of  the  will  of  the  people.  Kramer 
wrote  :  "The  nation  having  delivered  Jackson  into  the  hands 
of  Congress  backed  by  a  large  majority  of  their  votes,  there 
was  in  my  mind  no  doubt  that  Congress  would  respond  to 
the  will  of  the  nation  by  electing  the  individual  they  had  de 
clared  to  be  their  choice."  The  election  was  perfectly 
constitutional;  there  was  in  fact  no  ground  for  saying  that 
Jackson  was  the  choice  of  the  majority.  No  candidate  re 
ceived  a  majority  of  either  electoral  or  popular  votes,  and 
it  was  impossible  to  say  how  the  people  would  have  voted 
had  the  issue  been  a  simple  one  between  Adams  and  Jackson. 
Senator  Benton  of  Missouri,  one  of  the  Jackson  leaders, 
wrote  to  Scott,  the  Missouri  representative :  "The  vote  which 
you  intend  thus  to  give  is  not  your  own.  It  belongs  to  the 
people  of  the  state  of  Missouri."  In  Missouri  the  vote 
had  been,  1401  for  Clay,  987  for  Jackson,  and  311  for 
Adams.  With  Clay  no  longer  a  candidate  and  now  support 
ing  Adams,  it  was  certainly  difficult  to  say  how  the  people 
of  Missouri  wished  their  representative  to  vote.  Benton 
claimed  that  the  vote  should  be  for  Jackson ;  Scott 


178       POLITICS  OF  THE  PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION' 


Party  con 
flict. 


Adams  and 
the  civil 
service. 


Internal  im 
provements. 


voted  for  Adams.  Difficult  as  it  was  to  tell  who  "the 
people"  were  and  what  they  wished,  this  assertion  that 
the  government  did  not  rest  on  their  will  very  much 
weakened  the  administration.  It  made  a  direct  appeal  to 
the  growing  democratic  spirit  of  the  time. 

The  inauguration,  therefore,  found  two  parties  existing 
in  place  of  the  four  factions  of  the  previous  November.  The 
administration,  combining  in  its  support  the  followers  of  its 
two  leaders,  embarked  upon  an  active  progressive  nationalistic 
policy.  It  found  itself  confronted  by  an  opposition,  ably 
led,  composed  of  most  of  those  who  had  favored . Crawford 
and  Calhoun  as  well  as  Jackson.  This  opposition  endeavored 
to  avoid  committing  itself  on  subjects  of  national  policy,  and 
contented  itself  with  attacking  the  administration  as  corrupt, 
and  with  upholding  the  rights  of  the  people :  a  program  which 
could  unite  all  elements  of  opposition  without  exciting 
discord. 

Adams  wished  to  ignore  these  political  divisions  and 
continue  the  "era  of  good  feeling."  In  spite  of  the  fact 
that  many  of  those  in  office  were  his  violent  opponents,  he 
would  make  no  removals.  In  fact,  he  proceeded  upon  a  still 
broader  basis  than  Monroe,  for  he  gave,  in  pursuance  of  an 
anteelection  promise,  recognition  to  the  Federalists,  by 
naming  Rufus  King  minister  to  England.  Probably  no 
administration  before  or  after  has  been  so  nonpartisan. 
Adams  lost  more  support  than  he  won  by  this  policy.  He 
was  not  the  man  to  love  his  enemies,  even  though  he  kept 
them  in  office,  and  they  loved  him  no  better ;  the  good  fellow 
ship  of  rewarding  one's  friends  was  more  popular  than  the 
correct  virtue  of  impartiality. 

The  public  policy  which  most  interested  Adams  was  that 
of  internal  improvements,  and  great  impetus  was  given  to  this 
movement  in  1825  by  the  completion  and  immediate  success 
of  the  Erie  Canal.  During  this  administration  more  than 
twice  as  much  was  given  for  roads  and  harbors  as  in  the  whole 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS      179 

previous  history  of  the  country.  The  total  amount,  however, 
was  only  something  over  two  millions,  and  with  the  progress 
of  surveys,  it  was  becoming  evident  that  this  was  but  a  drop 
in  the  bucket  compared  with  the  great  sums  needed  for  the 
development  of  transportation,  and  with  the  sums  actually 
spent  by  states  and  companies  in  the  wealthy  coast  region. 
Government  aid  was  still  rather  a  promise  for  the  future 
than  an  accomplishment,  and  less  popular  support  was 
gained  than  Adams  anticipated. 

In  his  own  peculiar  field  of  foreign  affairs,  also,  Adams  was  Foreign 
unfortunate.  When  invited  to  send  delegates  to  a  Congress  a  aurs* 
of  American  Republics  called  to  meet  at  Panama,  Adams  and 
Clay  gladly  accepted.  They  foresaw  a  great  future  of  con 
tinental  cooperation,  and  hoped  to  secure  the  leadership  for 
the  United  States.  The  plan,  however,  was  made  the 
subject  of  violent  attack.  Southern  orators  breathed  on 
the  smoldering  coals  of  slavery  feeling,  by  pointing  out 
that  the  black  republics  of  Haiti  and  Santo  Domingo 
would  also  attend.  The  administration  won  its  point,  and 
Congress  provided  for  delegates,  but  the  delay  made  them 
late  at  the  Congress,  nothing  was  accomplished,  and  this 
advertised  failure  overshadowed  the  quieter  routine  successes 
of  the  period. 

Meantime  there  was  forced  upon  the  government  a  The  Georgia 
question  on  which  Adams  was  totally  out  of  sympathy  with  Indians- 
a  majority  of  his  countrymen.  Since  the  War  of  1812  the 
government  had  been  rapidly  pushing  its  purchases  of  Indian 
land.  Indian  title  had  been  extinguished  in  Ohio  and  almost 
completely  in  Indiana,  Illinois,  the  lower  peninsula  of  Mich 
igan,  Louisiana,  and  Arkansas.  The  Indians,  however,  still 
retained  possession  of  rich  tracts  in  Georgia,  Alabama,  and 
Mississippi,  which  were  strongly  desired  by  the  westward- 
moving  cotton  planters.  The  treaty  of  Indian  Springs  in 
1825  ceded  a  large  portion  of  this  land  held  by  the  Creeks  in 
Georgia  and  Alabama.  Intimations  were  brought  to  Adams 


180       POLITICS  OF  THE  PERIOD   OF  TRANSITION 

that  this  treaty  had  been  secured  without  the  due  consent 
of  the  Creek  nation.  He  ordered  an  investigation,  and 
decided  that  the  treaty  had  been  illegally  negotiated.  The 
matter  was  a  complicated  one.  By  a  treaty  of  1791  the 
United  States  had  guaranteed  to  the  Creeks  the  boundary 
agreed  upon  in  that  treaty.  By  Gallatin's  agreement  with 
Georgia  in  1802  the  United  States  had  promised  to  remove 
the  Indians  as  soon  as  possible.  In  the  dilemma  created 
by  these  conflicting  promises,  Adams  decided  to  regard 
the  treaty  of  Indian  Springs  as  void,  and  ordered  negotiations 
to  be  reopened.  This  seemed  to  the  people  of  the  frontier 
misplaced  conscientiousness.  Georgia  was  particularly  in 
censed,  deeming  it  part  of  her  sovereign  rights  to  control  the 
Indians  within  her  borders,  and  resenting  any  interference 
by  the  national  government  beyond  the  strict  letter  of  the 
Constitution.  Governor  Troup  proceeded  to  act  according 
to  the  treaty  of  Indian  Springs;  the  President  notified  him  that 
he  would  cause  the  authority  of  the  national  government 
to  be  respected.  Troup  replied:  "You  are  sufficiently 
explicit  as  to  the  means  by  which  you  propose  to  carry  your 
resolution  into  effect.  Thus  the  military  character  of  the 
menace  is  established,  and  I  am  at  liberty  to  give  it  the 
defiance  which  it  merits." 

This  controversy  was  particularly  unfortunate  for  Adams 
because  it  placed  him  in  the  doubly  obnoxious  position 
of  supporting  the  Indians  and  of  opposing  state  rights. 
The  frontier,  essentially  devoted  to  the  Union,  and  careless 
of  strict  construction  though  it  was,  nevertheless  opposed 
the  central  government  when  it  appeared  as  a  monitor 
instead  of  a  beneficent  purveyor  of  roads  and  canals.  This 
Georgia  question  served  to  weld  together  the  frontier  and 
the  old  Jeffersonian  democracy.  The  fact  that  Adams  ulti 
mately  succeeded  in  extinguishing  the  claim  of  the  Creeks  to 
territory  in  Georgia  did  not  offset  in  the  public  mind  his 
punctiliousness  as  to  the  methods  employed. 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS        181 

The  tariff  question  bid  fair  to  be  as  disturbing  for  the  oppo-  The  tariff 
sition  as  Georgia  was  for  the  administration.  Whereas  Adams  ^ue£tlon- 
and  Clay  and  the  districts  supporting  them  were  avowedly 
in  favor  of  a  protective  tariff,  the  Jackson  leaders  were  con 
fronted  with  the  fact  that  their  allies  in  Pennsylvania  and 
some  other  states  wanted  protection,  while  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia  were  becoming  every  day  more  violently  op 
posed  to  it.  The  protectionist  sentiment  was  persistent,  and 
in  1827  a  convention  was  held  at  Harrisburg  to  recommend 
new  legislation  to  Congress.  At  the  next  session  it  was 
necessary  to  take  up  the  subject. 

Under  these  circumstances  certain  Jackson  leaders  de-  The  tariff  of 
vised  a  clever  scheme  by  which  to  secure  credit  for  pro-  J 
tectionist  sentiment  without  passing  a  bill,  and  to  divide 
their  opponents.  A  bill  was  reported  from  a  committee 
controlled  by  Jackson  men,  which  provided  for  high  duties 
on  the  iron  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  raw  products  of  the 
West,  but  which  gave  inadequate  protection  to  the  tex 
tile  manufacturers  of  New  England.  This  might  cause  dis 
sension  between  the  two  classes  of  protectionists,  and  it  was 
expected  that  the  bill  would  be  defeated  by  the  combination 
of  New  Englanders  opposed  to  its  details,  and  southerners 
opposed  to  protection  altogether.  Thus  legislation  would 
be  prevented,  the  Jackson  leaders  would  secure  credit  for 
introducing  a  bill  satisfactory  to  those  regions  in  which  their 
strength  lay,  and  the  burden  of  the  defeat  would  lie  at  the 
door  of  Adams's  home  section,  New  England.  This  plan  was 
upset;  for  enough  New  England  members,  headed  by 
Webster,  voted  for  the  bill  to  carry  it.  This  act,  passed  in 
1828,  framed  with  the  intention  of  being  defeated,  based 
upon  no  scientific  principle,  and  relating,  as  John  Randolph 
said,  "to  manufactures  of  no  sort  or  kind  but  the  manu 
facture  of  a  President  of  these  United  States,"  quite  properly 
acquired  the  title  of  the  "Tariff  of  Abominations."  Politi 
cally  the  tariff  question  had  become  so  involved  and  compli- 


182       POLITICS  OF  THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION 


The  civil 
service. 


Campaign 
of  1828. 


Election  of 
1828. 


cated  that  the  attitude  of  the  Jackson  party  on  the  subject 
was  an  enigma,  which,  after  all,  was  one  of  the  objects  at 
which  its  leaders  aimed. 

While  they  stood  thus  uncommitted  on  the  subject  of 
the  tariff,  the  Jackson  leaders  endeavored  to  strengthen 
themselves  by  attacking  the  administration.  In  1826 
Benton  brought  in  a  report  on  the  patronage.  He  was  un 
able  to  show  that  corruption  existed,  but  he  magnified  the 
size  and  influence  of  the  civil  service,  and  pointed  out  the 
danger  to  the  republic  if  it  should  fall  into  the  hands  of 
unscrupulous  politicians.  To  those  who  believed  that  the 
administration  was  founded  on  bargain  and  corruption,  this 
seemed  an  added  reason  for  overthrowing  it  and  giving  the 
control  to  Jackson,  the  true  representative  of  the  people. 
This  attack  was  the  more  effective  beo|use  of  the  unpopu 
larity  of  the  civil  service.  Owing  to  me  failure  to  remove 
officials,  many  officeholders  were  old,  while  appointments 
were  made,  on  the  whole,  from  the  more  aristocratic  classes. 
The  red  tape  of  administration  generally  seems  unnecessary 
to  those  on  the  outside,  and  to  the  frontiersman  it  seemed 
devised  but  to  cover  up  the  theft  of  public  money.  The 
demand  for  "Reform"  became  one  of  the  most  effective  of 
the  issues  made  by  the  opposition. 

The  campaign  of  1828,  therefore,  was  fought  rather  on 
the  issue  of  who  should  run  the  government  than  what 
that  government  should  do.  The  administration  had  not 
succeeded  in  defining  any  issue  with  its  opponents  on 
public  policy,  and  it  was  not  able  to  defend  itself  success 
fully  against  the  charges  and  innuendoes  continually  directed 
against  it. 

The  electorate  was  thoroughly  aroused  by  the  busy  four 
years'  campaign,  and  several  times  as  many  votes  were  cast  as 
in  any  previous  election.  The  election  resulted  in  the  choice 
of  Jackson,  who  received  647,276  popular  votes  to  508,064 
for  Adams,  and  178  electoral  votes  to  83. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES  183 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES 

For  general  politics,  Adams,  J.  Q.,  Memoirs,  and  Benton,  T.  H.,  Sources. 
Thirty  Years'  View,  are  satisfactory.  For  the  tariff  the  references 
given  at  the  close  of  the  last  chapter  continue  sufficient.  For 
internal  improvements,  Calhoun,  J.  C.,  Works,  II,  186-196 ;  and 
Richardson,  Messages,  II,  144-183  (Views  of  James  Monroe, 
May  4,  1822).  For  the  Missouri  question:  Adams,  J.  Q.,  Memoirs, 
V  and  VI.  Jefferson,  T.,  Writings  (edited  by  H.  A.  Washington), 
VII.  King,  C.  R.,  Life,  Correspondence,  and  Speeches  of  R.  King, 
VI,  690-803.  For  the  Monroe  Doctrine :  American  History  Leaf 
lets,  no.  4.  Hill,  M.,  Liberty  Documents,  ch.  XX. 

In  addition  to  the  references  on  special  subjects  given  at  the  Historical 
close  of  the  last  chapter,  the  following  may  be  used:  Basset,  J.  S.,   Generaf' 
Jackson,  vol.  I.    Hoist,  H.  von,  United  States,  I,  421-458.     Hunt,   politics. 
C.  H.,  Livingston,  ch.  XIV.     Lodge,  H.   C.,  Webster,   129-171. 
Parton,    J.,    Jackson,    III,    94-120.      Phillips,    U.    B.,    Georgia 
and  State  Rights  (Am.  Hist.    Assoc.,  Report,   1901,    II),  ch.  II. 
Quincy,  J.,  Adams,  chs.  VI,  VII.     Roosevelt,  T.,  Benton,  ch.  III. 
Schurz,  C.,  Clay,  ch.  X.     Sumner,  G.  W.,  Jackson,  chs.  IV,  V. 
Taussig,  F.  W.,  Tar  if  History,  68-108. 

Moore,  J.  B.,  American  Diplomacy,  ch.  VI.     Turner,   F.  J.,    Monroe 
New  West,  119-124.     Gilman,  D.  C.,  Monroe,  appendix,  contains  Doctrine. 
a  bibliography. 

Catterall,  R.  C.  H.,  Second  Bank  of  the  United  States,   1-21.   Banking  and 
Dewey,  D.  R.,  State  Banking  before  the  Civil  War  (Senate  Doc.,  no.   curfency. 
581,  6ist  Cong.,  2d  sess.     Publication  of  the  United  States  Mone 
tary  Commission). 

Burgess,  Middle  Period,  61-108.     Hammond,  The  Cotton  Indus-   Missouri 
try,  chs.  I,  II,  and  III.     Harris,  Slavery  in  Illinois,  6-16,  27-50.   Compromise. 
Hinsdale,  B.  A.,  Old  Northwest,  345-367.     Hoist,  H.  von,  United 
Stales,    I,    324-381.     McMaster,     United    States,    III,  514-529. 
Schafer,  W.  A.,  Sectionalism  and  Representation  in  South  Carolina 
(Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,  Report,  1900,  I),  184-400.     Turner,  New  West, 
149-172. 


CHAPTER  XI 


End  of  the 

transition 

period. 


Jacksonian 
democracy. 


FRONTIER  POLICIES 

THE  inauguration  of  Andrew  Jackson,  on  March  4,  1829, 
brings  to  a  close  the  period  of  transition  beginning  in  1815. 
The  new  tendencies,  struggling  during  this  period  for  ex 
pression,  became  established.  The  change  from  the  second 
Adams  to  Jackson  was  much  more  important  than  that  from 
the  first  Adams  to  Jefferson.  The  election  of  Jefferson  had 
caused  a  temporary  halt  in  the  centralization  of  the  govern 
ment.  The  Jeffersonian  democracy  wished  government  to 
do  as  little  as  possible,  because  it  was  afraid  of  being  op 
pressed.  In  practice  the  Jeffersonian  Democrats  were  almost 
as  aristocratic  as  the  Federalists  had  been ;  control  was  still 
in  the  hands  of  a  class.  The  Jacksonian  democracy,  on 
the  other  hand,  had  a  robust  belief  in  its  power;  it  was 
unafraid;  it  wished  the  government  to  be  active.  The 
Jackson  victory,  moreover,  meant  the  actual  transfer  of 
power  to  the  majority.  The  people  at  large  were  brought 
into  more  direct  contact  with  the  government,  by  the  ex 
tension  of  political  organization,  by  the  growth  of  the  press 
and  by  the  appointment  of  men  of  all  classes  to  office.  So 
complete  was  this  transfer  of  power,  that  politics  in  the 
North  became  unfashionable,  and  for  a  period  of  fifty  years 
men  of  wealth  and  refinement,  to  a  large  extent,  kept  out  of 
political  life.  It  was  not  only  that  the  Jackson  party 
triumphed,  but  in  this  fundamental  point  of  appealing 
directly  to  the  plain  people  their  opponents  were  obliged 
to  copy  them.  The  basis  of  political  power  in  the  United 

Theinaugu-     States  was  permanently  broadened. 

ratlon-  This  change  was  dramatically  represented  by  the  chara.o 

184 


ANDREW  JACKSON 


COMPOSITION  OF  JACKSON'S  PARTY  185 

ter  of  the  inaugural  exercises.  In  the  place  of  the  trimly 
dressed  gentlemen  of  the  old  regime,  who  gravely  bore  their 
part  in  the  imposing  ceremony  of  the  inauguration,  and  the 
crowds  of  female  relatives  who  came  to  visit  Washington  and 
attend  the  dignified  social  functions  of  the  season,  came 
thousands  of  unselected  Democrats,  editors  from  the  fron 
tier,  ward  heelers  from  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania  farmers. 
The  chief  social  function  was  a  vast  reception  at  the  White 
House,  which  ended  in  a  drunken  revelry.  Justice  Story 
wrote:  "  King  Mob  seemed  triumphant."  The  breakdown 
of  social  barriers  illustrated  the  leveling  of  those  of  politics. 

While  it  was  clear  to  most  intelligent  on-lookers  that  Composition 
the  victory  of  Jackson  meant  a  closer  relationship  between  pJty.  x 
government  and  people,  it  was  not  clear  what  form  this 
relationship  would  take,  or  what  public  policies  would  be 
adopted  by  the  new  administration;  for  the  victory  had  been 
won  by  a  combination  of  elements  differing  widely  in  their 
view  of  what  was  meant  by  democracy  and  what  policy 
was  advantageous  for  the  government. 

First  was  the  democracy  of  the  frontier,  represented  by  The  frontier. 
Jackson  himself,  self-reliant,  based  on  actual  equality  among 
the  people.  Politically,  it  was  kept  together  by  personal 
leadership.  It  expected  from  the  new  government  a  renova 
tion  of  the  civil  service,  a  solution  of  the  land  problem,  the 
elimination  of  the  Indian,  relief  from  currency  troubles.  On 
the  tariff  and  internal  improvements  it  was  divided.  This 
frontier  element  was  the  most  powerful.  Influential  in  de 
ciding  issues  between  the  other  sections  since  1812,  it  was 
from  now  on  for  fifteen  years  the  dominant  section,  but  it 
could  not  rule  alone.  The  ten  frontier  states,  including 
Georgia,  which  can  at  this  time  be  considered  as  frontier, 
cast,  in  1828,  74  electoral  votes  to  187  cast  by  the  rest  of 
the  country;  the  census  of  1830  would  make  the  proportion 
96  to  190.  Jackson  received  the  total  electoral  vote  of  this 
section  and  almost  two  thirds  of  the  popular  vote. 


i86 


FRONTIER  POLICIES 


Virginian 
democracy. 


The  Cotton 

South. 


Northern 
democracy. 


Allied  with  the  frontier  was  the  Jeffersonian  democ 
racy  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Maryland;  democratic 
in  theory  rather  than  in  practice,  controlled  by  an  upper 
class  of  intelligent  planters,  sensitive  on  constitutional 
questions,  opposed  to  centralization,  and  hoping  for  a  reversal 
of  the  active  policy  pursued  by  the  Adams  administration. 
The  planters,  however,  favored  a  government  decorously 
conducted  by  gentlemen,  and  they  looked  at  currency  ques 
tions  from  the  point  of  view  of  men  with  large  vested  in 
terests.'  This  section  contributed  44  electoral  votes  to 
Jackson  and  only  6  to  Adams. 

The  eleven  votes  of  South  Carolina,  which  was  as  yet  the 
only  state  thoroughly  controlled  by  the  cotton  interest, 
were  given  to  Jackson  with  the  firm  conviction  that  he  was, 
or  could  be  made,  an  advocate  of  tariff  reduction  if  not  an 
opponent  of  protection  altogether.  South  Carolina  furnished 
the  Vice  President,  Calhoun,  and  it  was  expected  that  after 
a  single  term,  Jackson  would  retire  and  leave  him  the  succes 
sion.  In  character  the  democracy  of  South  Carolina  resem 
bled  more  that  of  Virginia  than  that  of  the  frontier,  the 
control  being  in  the  hands  of  a  capitalistic  upper  class. 
It  differed  from  that  of  Virginia  in  that  the  industry  upon 
which  it  was  based  was  steadily  growing,  encroaching  con 
stantly  upon  the  frontier  region,  as  cotton  plantations  were 
established  in  western  states. 

With  the  votes  received  from  the  West  and  South, 
Jackson  would  have  just  failed  of  election  ;  his  great 
victory  was  due  to  the  democracy  of  the  North.  The 
northern  democracy  differed  from  that  of  the  other  sections 
in  that  it  was  a  democracy  opposed  to  an  aristocracy.  It 
consisted  in  the  main  of  the  poorer  and  less  fortunate  classes 
who  lived  in  the  same  communities  with  the  richer  and  more 
powerful.  It  had,  therefore,  somewhat  of  the  bitterness  of 
European  democracies,  and  it  felt  the  need  of  close  organiza 
tion  for  self -protection.  The  minor  leaders  of  this  section 


JACKSON'S    FIRST   ADMINISTRATION  187 

were  of  a  lower  character  than  those  elsewhere,  and  the  most 
important  figure,  Martin  Van  Buren,  governor  of  New  York, 
was  regarded  very  generally  as  a  man  whose  talents  were 
confined  to  the  successful  manipulation  of  the  party  ma 
chinery.  This  northern  faction  of  the  party  was  strongly  inter 
ested  in  maintaining  the  tariff.  It  cast  49  electoral  votes  for 
Jackson,  only  one  of  which  came  from  New  England. 

The  organization  of  the  administration  gave  little  clew  The  adminis- 
as  to  which  would  be  the  ruling  faction,  but  it  did  serve  to  tratlon- 
emphasize  the  fact  that  the  character  of  the  government  had 
completely  changed.  None  of  the  new  cabinet  officers  were 
men  of  previous  experience  in  national  administration. 
Martin  Van  Buren  was  made  Secretary  of  State;  of  the 
remaining  members,  three  were  more  or  less  closely  allied  to 
Calhoun,  two  were  personal  friends  of  Jackson.  Virginia,  for 
the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  country,  was  without  a 
representative  at  the  council  table  of  the  cabinet.  The 
influence  of  Calhoun  was  strengthened  by  the  patronage 
given  the  Telegraph,  a  Washington  paper,  which  was  edited 
by  his  friend  Duff  Green,  and  which  became  the  official  organ 
of  the  administration.  It  was  soon  evident,  however,  that 
the  personnel  of  the  cabinet  meant  comparatively  little,  for 
Jackson  gave  no  more  weight  to  the  advice  of  his  con 
stitutional  advisers  than  to  that  of  outsiders.  He  grad 
ually  drew  about  him  a  group  of  personal  friends  whose 
advice  he  often  took,  and  whose  pens  he  often  employed  to 
make  up  for  his  own  want  of  literary  skill.  Most  important 
of  these  were  Amos  Kendall  of  Kentucky,  Isaac  Hill  of  New 
Hampshire,  Major  Lewis  of  Tennessee,  and  F.  P.  Blair  of 
Missouri,  who  occupied  inferior  positions,  but  who  were 
dubbed,  because  of  their  influence,  the  "  Kitchen  Cabinet." 

The  attention  of  the  administration  was  first  given  to  the  Removals, 
civil  service.     In  fact  it  was  forced  to  act  by  the  crowd  which 
had  flocked  to  Washington,  not  only  to  witness  the  triumph 
of  the  people,  but  also  to  divide  the  spoils.     After  a  campaign 


l88  FRONTIER  POLICIES 

waged  largely  on  the  plea  that  the  government  was  corrupt, 
it  was  natural  that  the  first  result  of  victory  should  be  to 
remove  from  office  those  supposed  to  be  unfaithful.  More 
over,  the  frontier  believed  in  the  capacity  of  any  man 
for  any  kind  of  work,  a  belief  based  on  the  frontier  necessity 
for  one  man  to  do  many  things.  It  distrusted  experts.  As 
Jackson  said  in  one  of  his  messages:  "The  duties  of  all 
public  offices  are,  or  at  least  admit  of  being  made,  so  plain  and 
simple  that  men  of  intelligence  may  readily  qualify  them 
selves  for  their  performance ;  and  I  cannot  but  believe  that 
more  is  lost  by  the  long  continuance  of  men  in  office  than  is 
generally  to  be  gained  by  their  experience."  It  was  held 
that  the  offices  should  be  manned  by  friends  of  the  admin 
istration,  and,  at  least  in  theory,  that  even  these  friends 
should  "rotate"  every  so  often.  Office  was  regarded  rather 
as  a  sinecure  than  as  a  duty.  Although  these  doctrines  were 
popular,  the  adoption  of  a  general  policy  of  removal  cre 
ated  great  popular  excitement.  For  thirty  years  an  ap 
pointment  in  the  civil  service  had  meant  almost  certainly 
a  life  position,  and  officeholders  were  not  prepared  to  fall 
back  on  other  occupations.  The  population  of  Washington 
depended  almost  wholly  upon  public  employment.  More 
over,  the  Jackson  administration  did  not  make  removals 
slowly  and  for  special  reasons  as  did  Jefferson,  but  upon  the 
broad  grounds  that  public  offices  should  not  be  held  long  by 
any  one  person,  and  that  it  was  right  to  punish  one's  enemies. 
Appoint-  More  important  was  the  difference  in  the  character  of 

the  men  who  got  places  "out  of  the  general  scramble  for 
plunder,"  as  Samuel  Swartwout  describes  the  struggle  for 
appointments.  The  decisive  qualification  for  office  was 
service  to  the  party.  The  motto  of  the  administration  was, 
"To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils."  Nor  was  it  past  service 
only  that  was  considered,  but  also  the  possibility  of  future 
usefulness.  A  great  many  appointments  were  given  to  edi 
tors  who  had  spread  broadcast  the  charges  of  corruption 


THE   SPOILS   SYSTEM  189 

against  the  previous  administration.  Few  newspapers  paid 
at  that  time,  and  many  had  been  maintained  with  a  view 
to  reward  when  the  victory  came.  These  editors  planned  to 
combine  their  new  official  duties  with  their  editorial  labors. 
Very  soon  there  developed  also  the  policy  of  assessing  the 
officeholders  for  the  purpose  of  paying  party  expenses.  Thus 
the  spoils  system  was  fully  established. 

Closely  connected  with  the  establishment  of  the  spoils  Party  organi- 
system  was  the  development  of  party  organization.  Such  j^iiTsystem 
organization  was  expensive,  and  the  civil  service  was  thus 
made  to  bear  this  expense.  In  New  York  and  Pennsyl 
vania  this  process  was  already  complete  in  1829;  now  it 
spread  rapidly.  After  1831  national  conventions  were  held  for 
the  selection  of  presidential  candidates,  and  these  became  the 
centers  of  party  organization.  They  soon  began  to  provide 
for  a  permanent  national  committee  which  became  the  exec 
utive  of  the  party.  The  convention  system  having  been 
adopted  for  national  purposes,  it  rapidly  spread  into  those 
states  where  it  had  not  previously  been  established.  The 
old  custom  of  individual  nominations  and  of  legislative  cau 
cuses  gradually  disappeared,  and  the  convention  system  be 
came,  in  the  course  of  time,  practically  universal. 

These  innovations  were  not  brought  about  without  opposition, 
opposition.  The  spoils  system  was  popular  on  the  frontier 
and  with  the  northern  democracy;  it  was  unpopular  with  the 
southern  democracy.  In  fact  the  Atlantic  coast  states  of 
the  South  were  generally  exempted  from  political  proscrip 
tion  until  after  the  Civil  War.  The  spoils  system  was  bit 
terly  attacked  by  the  opponents  of  the  administration.  They 
claimed  that  it  would  lead  to  maladministration,  and  that  it 
gave  the  President  too  great  power  by  making  all  officers 
dependent  upon  him  for  their  livelihood.  The  convention 
system  was  perhaps  even  more  disliked,  particularly  in  the 
South,  on  the  ground  that  it  gave  the  majority  a  tyrannical 
power  in  dictating  party  policy.  Calhoun  and  many  other 


igo 


FRONTIER  POLICIES 


Significance 
of  the  new 
system. 


Indian 
policy. 


southern  leaders  never  gave  up  the  fight  for  local  party 
independence.  In  fact  the  formation  of  efficient  national 
party  organizations  was  a  long  step  in  the  consolidation  of 
the  government,  against  which  the  South  was  always  con 
tending. 

In  spite  of  opposition,  both  the  spoils  system  and  party 
organization  became  definitely  fixed  upon  the  country. 
When  the  opposition  came  into  power  in  1841,  they  pursued 
the  Jacksonian  policy  with  regard  to  the  civil  service,  and 
they  found  themselves  forced  to  adopt  also  the  convention 
system.  Circumstances  compelled  them  to  resort  to  na 
tional  conventions  in  1831  and  1832,  and  gradually  the 
practice  was  taken  up  by  one  state  after  another.  The 
change  of  attitude  is  illustrated  by  the  experience  of  a 
young  Illinois  lawyer  and  Whig  politician,  Abraham  Lincoln. 
In  1840  he  wrote  a  pamphlet  denouncing  the  Democrats 
because  of  the  convention  system;  in  1843  he  vigorously 
defended  it  on  the  ground  that  its  conveniences  offset  its 
evils.  In  fact  these  were  necessary  features  of  the  Democratic 
victory.  The  people  desired  to  control  the  ordinary  every 
day  course  of  the  government;  to  do  this  organization  was 
necessary,  and  to  support  this  organization  the  spoils  system 
was  the  simplest  method.  As  party  organization"  became 
highly  developed  it  was  often  used  to  thwart  the  will  of  the 
people,  and  often  the  national  conventions  agreed  to  com 
promises  acceptable  to  the  people  of  no  one  section  of  the 
country ;  but  in  a  crude  way  it  brought  government  nearer 
the  people,  and  by  harmonizing  sectional  differences  strength 
ened  the  government.  It  was  fifty  years  before  these  rough- 
and-ready  methods  of  democratic  government  were  outgrown. 

As  a  frontiersman  and  an  Indian  fighter,  it  was  natural 
that  Jackson  should  take  a  vigorous  attitude  on  the  Indian 
question.  In  his  first  annual  message  he  attacked  Jeffer 
son's  policy  of  civilizing  them  and  "reclaiming  them  from  a 
wandering  life."  This  policy  seemed  to  be  succeeding  too 


JACKSON'S  INDIAN  POLICY  191 

well  in  Georgia,  where  the  Cherokees  had  become  sedentary, 
had  adopted  a  tribal  constitution,  and  had  claimed  immunity 
from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  state.  Georgia  and  Alabama 
had  passed  laws  for  the  government  of  their  Indian  territories, 
and  the  Indians  had  appealed  to  the  President  for  protec 
tion.  He  informed  them  that  they  must  recognize  state 
authority,  and  he  recommended  that  Congress  set  apart  an 
Indian  territory  beyond  the  Mississippi,  and  gather  there  all 
the  tribes  then  living  to  the  east  of  it. 

In  carrying  out  this  policy  Jackson  encountered  the  Jackson  and 
same  opponent  who  had  prevented  the  complete  triumph 
of  Jefferson  thirty  years  before,  —  John  Marshall.  The  In 
dians  appealed  their  cause  to  the  Supreme  Court,  which,  in 
the  cases  of  the  Cherokee  Nation  v.  Georgia,  1831,  Worcester  v. 
Georgia,  1832,  and  Graves  v.  Georgia,  1834,  decided  that  the 
Cherokees  constituted  a  "domestic  dependent  nation  ";  that 
the  laws  of  Georgia  were  void  within  their  territory,  and 
that  treaties  between  them  and  the  United  States  were 
valid.  As  there  existed  a  treaty  guaranteeing  their  terri 
tory,  the  United  States  seemed  bound  to  defend  them. 
President  Jackson,  however,  ignored  these  decisions.  He 
would  not  admit  that  the  Supreme  Court  could  dictate  the 
policy  of  the  executive.  "John  Marshall  has  made  his  de 
cision,"  he  is  reported  to  have  said  ;  "  now  let  him  enforce 
it." 

Throughout  the  administration  the  constructive  portion  Indian 
of  Jackson's    Indian  policy  was    consistently  carried  out,  r 
with  skill  and  success.     In    1834   an  Indian  territory  was 
roughly  defined.      Already  in  1830  arrangements  had  been 
made  for  the  removal  of  the  Choctaws  from  Mississippi.     In 
1836  the  great  majority  of  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees  were  at 
length  removed  from  Georgia  and  Alabama.  •    The  same  policy 
cleared  northern  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  of  the  Winnebago 
and   Sac  and   Fox  tribes,   though  not  until  after  a   short 
period  of  hostilities  in  1832,  known  as  the  Black  Hawk  War. 


IQ2  FRONTIER  POLICIES 

As  a  result  of  these  removals  the  population  of  Illinois 
bounded,  in  the  decade,  from  157,445  to  476,183;  that  of 
Alabama  from  309,527  to  590,756;  that  of  Mississippi  from 
136,621  to  375,651.  Only  the  Seminoles  in  the  swamps  of 
Florida  successfully  resisted  removal.  The  power  of  the 
Indians  east  of  the  great  river  had  been  broken  by  Jackson 
and  Harrison  in  the  victories  of  1814 ;  the  credit  for  actually 
clearing  the  territory  belonged  to  Jackson,  and  in  perform 
ing  this  task  he  did  one  of  the  things  which  the  frontier 
had  elected  him  to  do. 

Opposition  to  On  the  subject  of  internal  improvements  Jackson's 
pavements!  course  was  less  clearly  marked  out.  While  Adams  and  Clay 
had  relied  upon  this  policy  for  popularity,  the  Jackson  leaders 
had  not  committed  themselves  against  it,  and  the  frontier 
was  divided.  Every  one  saw  the  overwhelming  need  of  im 
proving  transportation ;  differences  existed  as  to  whether 
it  was  the  proper  function  of  the  national  government  to 
carry  on  such  works.  Jackson  discussed  the  matter  in  his 
first  annual  message,  and  on  May  30,  1830,  decidedly  revealed 
his  policy  by  vetoing  the  "Maysville  Road  Bill."  Unlike 
Madison  and  Monroe,  he  based  his  veto  on  the  inexpediency 
as  well  as  the  unconstitutionality  of  such  appropriations. 
This  was  an  act  of  political  courage,  for  the  road  proposed  was 
intended  to  benefit  that  portion  of  Kentucky  in  which  Jack 
son's  support  lay.  Kentucky  did  not  go  Democratic  again 
until  1856.  A  struggle  now  ensued  between  a  majority  in 
Congress  and  the  President.  Congress  passed  several  appro 
priations  for  such  purposes  by  including  them  in  general 
appropriation  bills  which  the  President  dared  not  veto; 
items  thus  passed  being  known  as  "  riders."  Jackson  killed 
several  bills  that  might  have  been  passed  over  his  veto  by  a 
two-thirds  majority,  by  "pocket  vetoes."  If  the  President 
does  not  desire  a  bill  passed  by  Congress  to  become  a  law, 
he  must  return  it  within  ten  days,  otherwise  it  becomes  ef 
fective  without  his  signature,  "unless  the  Congress  by  their 


PUBLIC   LANDS  193 

adjournment  prevent  its  return."  The  great  majority  of 
bills  are  passed  in  the  last  few  days  of  the  session,  and  a  num 
ber  of  these  Jackson  simply  "  pocketed,"  neither  signing  nor 
vetoing  them,  and  as  Congress  adjourned  before  the  ten  days 
expired,  they  simply  lapsed.  Within  his  party,  Jackson  won 
a  decisive  victory  on  this  subject.  Opposition  to  national 
grants  for  local  purposes  became  one  of  the  cardinal  principles 
of  the  Democrats.  On  national  legislation  his  attitude  was 
influential  for  the  time  being;  in  1838  the  Cumberland  Road 
was  turned  over  to  the  states  in  which  it  lay,  and  no  impor 
tant  new  projects  were  undertaken;  but  many  years  later 
appropriations  for  rivers  and  harbors,  and  land  grants  to 
railroads,  revived  the  practice. 

Jackson's  policy  on  this  subject  was  not  entirely  nega-  Distribution 
tive.  He  realized  the  need  of  the  frontier  for  capital  with  of  the  surplus' 
which  to  construct  roads  and  canals,  and  proposed  that, 
in  case  the  national  government  had  a  surplus  revenue, 
this  money  be  divided  among  the  states  according  to 
their  representation  in  the  electoral  college.  That  is,  he 
advocated  leaving  the  work  of  improvement  to  the  states, 
but  supplying  them  with  money.  It  seemed  probable  that 
there  would  soon  be  a  surplus  available,  for  the  revenue  far 
exceeded  expenditures,  and  the  public  debt  was  being  rapidly 
paid  off.  Jackson  could  look  forward  to  action  while  still 
President,  and  he  advised  the  adoption  of  a  constitutional 
amendment  to  remove  all  doubt  as  to  the  legality  of  such  ac 
tion.  In  this  he  showed  himself  more  in  favor  of  practical 
state  rights  than  Jefferson,  who,  in  1806,  under  similar 
circumstances,  recommended  an  amendment  giving  the  na 
tional  government  power  to  undertake  such  work.  Jackson 
subsequently  changed  his  mind,  but  his  plan  was  in  part  car 
ried  out. 

Closely  connected  with  the  question  of  internal  improve-   Public  lands, 
ments  was  another  question  deeply  interesting  to  the  fron 
tier:  that  of  the  public  land.     By  the  time  Jackson  became 


194  FRONTIER  POLICIES 

President  the  business  difficulties  resulting  from  the  credit 
system  and  the  crisis  of  1819  had  been  almost  settled  and  the 
passage  of  some  additional  relief  acts  completed  the  work. 
A  large  question  of  policy  remained.  The  demand  of  the 
settlers  for  a  reduction  in  price,  if  not  the  sale  of  land  at  the 
actual  cost  of  survey,  was  growing  continually  stronger. 
Benton,  Jackson's  great  western  champion,  advocated  it,  and 
in  1832  Jackson  himself  said :  "It  seems  to  me  to  be  our  true 
policy  that  the  public  lands  shall  cease  as  soon  as  practi 
cable  to  be  a  source  of  revenue/*  This  policy  was  exceed 
ingly  distasteful  to  the  older  states,  which,  even  as  things  were 
already,  saw  too  many  of  their  strong  young  men  enticed 
away  by  the  desire  to  become  landowners.  Particularly 
the  manufacturing  states  feared  the  depletion  of  the  ranks 
of  their  workers  and  felt  the  very  present  necessity,  in 
order  to  keep  the  laboring  population  at  home,  of  paying 
wages  so  high  as  to  make  competition  with  England  increas 
ingly  difficult.  On  December  29,  1829,  Senator  Foote  of 
Connecticut  introduced  a  resolution  that  the  committee  on 
public  lands  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  restricting  sales 
at  the  minimum  price  to  land  already  surveyed.  This 
resolution  became  the  excuse  for  one  of  the  greatest  debates 
that  Congress  ever  heard,  to  which  it  will  be  necessary  to 
recur  in  another  connection,  but  it  was  not  passed.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  price  of  land  was  not  reduced.  Something, 
however,  was  done  for  the  home  seeker  by  the  passage  of  a 
number  of  preemption  laws,  which  gave  actual  settlers  the 
right  to  preempt  or  occupy  land  before  it  was  put  upon  the 
market,  and  buy  it  at  private  sale  at  the  minimum  price 
before  the  public  auction  was  held.  These  laws  were  passed 
for  one  year  only,  and  applied  only  to  those  who  had  already 
taken  such  holdings.  They  were  renewed  almost  every 
year.  Finally,  in  1841,  a  permanent  general  law  was  passed. 
The  "squatter,"  instead  of  being  driven  from  the  public  land, 
—  a  plan  the  government  had  tried  in  the  eighteenth  century, 


PUBLIC  LANDS  195 

—  became  the  recognized  forerunner  of  civilization,  with  a 
prior  claim  to  the  land  he  selected.  More  might  have  been 
accomplished  had  the  land  question  not  been  closely  involved 
with  the  general  question  of  revenue  and  the  tariff,  and  later 
with  that  of  slavery. 

As  land  was  still  to  be  sold  at  a  profit  the  question  arose  Land 
as  to  what  should  be  done  with  the  revenue  derived  from  it.  revenu : 
Benton  had  the  rather  fantastic  idea  that  it  could  best  be 
employed  in  constructing  fortifications  which  would  forever 
render  the  United  States  secure  against  attack.  Jackson 
proposed  that  the  United  States  turn  the  lands  within  each 
state  over  to  that  state.  His  idea  was  that  the  states  could 
use  the  proceeds  of  their  lands  for  the  purposes  of  internal 
improvement.  Opposition  to  this  plan  was  overwhelming. 
Either  the  states  would  sell  cheaply  and  thus  draw  population 
more  quickly  from  the  East,  or  the  first  settlers  would  receive 
for  their  own  purposes  large  sums  from  land  secured  by  na 
tional  effort,  and  which  the  landless  states  felt  should  be  ad 
ministered  for  the  general  benefit.  The  opposition,  however, 
could  not  let  matters  rest  without  action.  If  the  proceeds 
of  land  sales,  after  the  payment  of  the  debt,  simply  went  to 
swell  the  general  revenue,  a  large  surplus  would  result.  With 
a  surplus  revenue,  the  demand  for  a  lower  tariff  would  become 
compelling.  Henry  Clay,  therefore,  in  1833  presented  a 
plan  whereby  the  lands  were  to  be  administered  by  the 
national  government,  ten  per  cent  of  the  proceeds  of  sale  in 
each  state  was  to  be  given  to  that  state,  the  remainder  was 
to  be  divided  among  all  the  states.  This  would  dispose  of 
the  revenue,  give  special  recognition  to  the  state  in  which 
the  land  lay,  recognize  also  the  common  claim  of  all  the 
states,  and  furnish  all  states  with  a  fund  for  internal  im 
provements.  The  bill  passed  Congress,  but  Jackson  "  pock 
eted"  it,  and  the  question  remained  open.  At  length  in 
1836  a  bill  was  passed  which  disposed  of  the  whole  surplus 
revenue,  and  which  avoided  any  appearance  of  unconst* 


196 


FRONTIER  POLICIES 


Sources. 


Historical 
accounts. 


Party  organi 
zation. 


Indian 
questions. 

Land  and  in 
ternal  im 
provements. 


tutionality  by  providing  that  the  money  be  loaned  to  the 
states  instead  of  given  to  them.  The  special  grant  to  the 
state  in  which  the  lands  lay  was  also  omitted.  In  this 
form  Jackson  accepted  the  measure,  although  somewhat 
unwillingly,  and  the  question  of  land  revenue  was  thus 
temporarily  settled. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES 

On  the  composition  of  the  Jackson  party:  Adams,  J.  Q., 
Memoirs,  VI,  5-104.  Benton,  T.  H.,  Thirty  Years'  View.  Che 
valier,  M.,  Society,  etc.,  in  the  United  States.  [Cooper,  J.  FJ, 
Notions  of  the  Americans.  Kendall,  A.,  Autobiography.  Quincy, 
J.,  Figures  of  the  Past.  Tocqueville,  Alexis  de,  Democracy  in 
America  (translated  by  Bowen),  1-72.  Mrs.  Trollope,  Domestic 
Manners  of  the  Americans.  Jackson's  messages  in  Richardson's 
Messages  and  Papers,  vol.  I,  265,  and  vol.  II,  308,  are  useful. 

The  best  general  accounts  are :  Macdonald,  W.,  Jacksonian 
Democracy;  and  McMaster,  J.  B.,  United  States,  vol.  V.  Of 
biographies,  those  of  Jackson,  by  W.  G.  Sumner  and  J.  S.  Bassett ; 
of  T.  H.  Benton,  by  W.  M.  Meigs  and  by  T.  Roosevelt ;  and  of 
M .  Van  Buren,  by  E.  M.  Shepard,  are  useful.  Woodburn,  J.  A., 
Political  Parties,  ch.  IV. 

Fish,  C.  R.,  Civil  Service  and  the  Patronage,  chs.  Ill,  IV,  V,  VI. 
Macy,  J.,  Political  Parties,  ch.  IV.  Ostrogorski,  M.,  Democracy 
and  the  Organization  of  Political  Parties,  II,  1-75 ;  also  published 
in  one  volume.  Parton,  Jackson,  III,  164-255. 

Phillips,  U.  B.,  Georgia  and  State  Rights  (Am.  Hist.  Assoc., 
Report,  1901,  vol.  II),  ch.  III. 

Hart,  A.  B . ,  Practical  Essays,  IX,  X.  Johnson,  E.  R. ,  River  and 
Harbor  Bills  (Am.  Acad.  of  Polit.  and  Soc.  Sci.,  Annals,  H),  782  ff. 
Mason,  Veto  Power,  sees.  83-94.  Schouler,  United  States,  ch.  XIV, 
sec.  II.  Shosuke  Sato,  Land  Question  (Johns  Hopkins  Historical 
Studies,  IV),  nos.  7-9.  Sioussat,  S.  L.,  Tennessee  Politics  (Am. 
Hist.  Review,  vol.  14,  50-69).  Wellington,  R.  G.,  Political  and 
Sectional  Influence  of  the  Public  Lands. 


CHAPTER  XII 
JACKSON   AND   SOUTH   CAROLINA 

WHILE  the  problems  of  the  frontier  were  thus  receiving  Demands  of 
attention  and  the  voice  of  the  northern  politician  was  grow-  caroUna 
ing  powerful,  another  section  of  the  Jackson  party  demanded 
attention.  No  state  had  such  high  ambitions,  none  was  so 
united  in  its  desires,  as  South  Carolina.  The  boon  that 
it  expected  as  a  result  of  Jackson's  triumph  was  the  reduction, 
radical  and  prompt,  of  the  tariff.  All  the  distress  caused  by 
exhaustion  of  the  soil,  and  the  decline  in  the  price  of  cotton 
due  to  the  opening  of  new  cotton  areas,  was  attributed  to  the 
high  tariff.  Seldom  has  an  entire  population  been  so  united 
in  its  understanding  of  an  economic  question,  and  it  was 
equally  insistent  on  relief. 

It  was  the  general  belief  in  South  Carolina  that  a  pro-  Constitution- 
tective  tariff  was  unconstitutional.  The  Constitution  gives  tective  tariff. 
Congress  power  "  to  lay  and  collect  Taxes,  Duties,  Imposts, 
and  Excises  to  pay  the  Debts  and  provide  for  the  common 
Defense  and  general  Welfare  of  the  United  States;  but  all 
Duties,  Imposts,  and  Excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the 
United  States."  It  was  argued  that  there  was  no  power  to 
lay  duties  to  protect  domestic  industry,  and  that  such 
duties,  so  far  from  being  uniform  and  providing  for  the 
general  welfare,  were  ruining  the  cotton  planter  and  en 
riching  the  cotton  manufacturer.  McDunie  also  argued 
that  an  import  duty  on  goods  necessary  in  the  production 
of  cotton,  by  making  it  more  costly,  amounted  to  an 
export  duty  on  cotton,  and  the  Constitution  specifically  for 
bids  export  duties.  Whether  these  arguments  were  or  were 

197 


JACKSON  AND   SOUTH   CAROLINA 


Talk  of 
secession. 


Calhoun's 
position. 


not  valid,  they  at  any  rate  secured  no  relief  from  the  courts. 
No  tariff  bill  except  that  of  1789  contained  any  formal  ex 
pression  of  its  object,  and  it  was  impossible  to  prove  that 
any  particular  duty  was  levied  only  for  the  purpose  of 
protection.  The  constitutional  argument  was  equally  with 
out  effect  in  Congress.  McDume  claimed  that  the  cotton 
interests  were  practically  unrepresented,  because  they  had  a 
minority  representation ;  subject  as  they  were  to  the  tyran 
nical  rule  of  the  majority,  it  would  be  as  well  to  withdraw 
their  representatives  from  Washington  altogether. 

The  tariff  of  1824  had  caused  men  to  formulate  these 
views ;  the  tariff  of  1828  intensified  their  belief  in  them.  Some 
leaders  began  to  " calculate  the  value  of  the  Union."  In 
cendiary  toasts  were  drunk  at  public  dinners ;  a  congress  of 
the  states  opposed  to  the  tariff  was  proposed ;  some  suggested 
state  laws  to  tax  or  prevent  the  importation  of  "tariffied" 
articles.  Secession  was  discussed.  "Fear  nothing,"  said  a 
correspondent  in  the  Charleston  Courier;  "  foreign  nations 
will  protect  us.  We  have  commerce  and  products  to  tempt 
them,  and  they  have  men  and  ships  to  defend  us.  Congress 
can  do  nothing  but  blockade  us,  and  this  may  soon  be  ob 
viated." 

To  this  situation  it  behooved  Calhoun,  the  political 
leader  of  South  Carolina,  to  set  his  mind.  A  cotton  planter 
among  cotton  planters,  he  naturally  sympathized  with  their 
views.  At  the  same  time  he  was  deeply  devoted  to  the  Union. 
He  had  entered  Congress  as  one  of  the  enthusiastic  young 
leaders  who  brought  about  the  War  of  1812;  he  had  been 
active  in  the  Fourteenth  Congress,  taking  part  in  its  discussion 
on  the  nationalistic  side;  for  sixteen  years  he  had  been  in 
Washington  as  congressman,  cabinet  officer,  and  vice  presi 
dent.  In  1829  his  prospects  for  a  national  career  seemed 
high ;  he  was  strong  in  the  cabinet,  and  had  friends  and  sup 
porters  all  over  the  North  and  West;  he  was  the  logical  can 
didate  for  the  succession.  He  therefore  devoted  all  thft 


CALHOUN'S  POSITION  199 

powers  of  his  great  mind  to  make  possible  the  prosperity  of 
his  section  and  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 

The  metaphysical  bent  of  his  Scotch  ancestry  was  plainly  The  doctrine 
apparent  in  his  views.  As  he  studied  the  situation  in  the  current  ma- 
light  of  past  history  he  became  convinced  that  all  govern-  J°rities-" 
ments  tend  to  become  tyrannical.  The  problem  is  to  create 
a  government  having  sufficient  power  to  be  efficient,  and  yet 
so  limited  as  to  be  unable  to  oppress  any  portion  of  the 
governed.  The  right  to  vote  is  not  sufficient,  for  the  tyranny 
of  the  majority  is  far  worse  than  that  of  a  single  man.  The 
only  remedy  is  to  allow  each  body  of  citizens  of  a  particular 
section  or  special  interest  to  vote  separately,  and  require, 
to  make  a  law  valid,  a  "concurrent  majority"  in  every  section 
and  interest.  In  this  way  all  legislation  for  the  general  wel 
fare  eould  be  passed,  but  nothing  offensive  to  any  section ; 
the  minority  would  be  absolutely  protected.  "The  concur 
rent  majority  .  .  .  tends  to  unite  the  most  opposite  and  con 
flicting  interests,  and  to  blend  the  whole  in  one  common 
attachment  to  the  country."  "Instead  of  factions,  strife, 
and  struggle  for  party  ascendency,  there  would  be  patriotism, 
nationality,  harmony,  and  a  struggle  only  for  supremacy 
in  promoting  the  common  good  of  the  whole."  This  view 
of  the  true  structure  of  government  Calhoun  set  forth  later 
in  an  essay  entitled :  A  Disquisition  on  Government ;  and  it 
formed  the  basis  of  his  political  thought  throughout  the 
last  twenty  years  of  his  life. 

Applying  these  views  to  the  United  States,   he  argued  The  doctrine 
that  the  government  had  been  founded  by  thirteen  inde-  °for;ullifica~ 
pendent  states.     These  states  had  united  and  formed  a  com 
pact  or  bargain,  the  terms  of  which  were  set  forth  in  the  Con 
stitution.     They  had   not  surrendered  their  independence, 
they  had  not  divided  the  sovereignty;  because,  according 
to  his  belief,  sovereignty  is  indivisible,  they  had  merely  as 
signed  certain  specified  functions  to  the  central  government. 
The  national  government  must  confine  itself  to  the  powers 


2OO 


JACKSON  AND   SOUTH   CAROLINA 


Calhoun's 
purpose. 


Webster- 

Hayne 

debate. 


specified.  If  it  exercised  other  powers,  it  was  acting  without 
authority.  In  such  case  a  decision  of  the  national  Su 
preme  Court  could  not  be  considered  final,  for  it  was  a  part 
of  the  national  government.  Back  of  the  Court  stood  the 
states.  In  case  of  a  "deliberate,  palpable,  and  dangerous 
exercise  of  other  powers  not  granted  by  the  said  compact," 
each  state  was  at  liberty  to  "nullify"  the  lawr  Thus  the 
government  would  be  prevented  from  oppressing  any  one 
state,  and  the  principle  of  the  concurrent  majority  would  be 
maintained. 

This  doctrine  of  nullification  recalled  the  Virginia  and 
Kentucky  Resolutions  of  Madison  and  Jefferson,  in  the  asser 
tion  of  the  right  of  a  state  to  declare  an  act  unconstitutional. 
Calhoun,  however,  went  so  far  beyond  them  in  drawing  con 
clusions  as  to  what  action  should  be  taken  by  the  state,  that 
Madison  indignantly  refused  to  be  held  responsible.  Accord 
ing  to  this  new  view,  if  a  state  legislature  were  fully  convinced 
that  the  Constitution  was  being  violated  and  Congress  refused 
to  change  its  action,  then  a  convention  should  be  called, 
representing  the  people  of  the  state  as  a  whole,  for  the  express 
purpose  of  discussing  the  question.  The  sovereign  people 
acting  thus  in  their  collective  capacity  could  declare  such  law 
null  and  void  within  the  limits  of  the  state.  Thus  the  state 
would  be  relieved  of  oppression  without  resorting  to  the  vio 
lent  remedy  of  secession.  This  was  undoubtedly  the  purpose 
of  Calhoun.  While  he  believed  in  secession  as  a  right,  he 
was,  until  just  before  the  close  of  his  life,  opposed  to  it  in 
practice.  He  was  not  even  a  strict  constructionist  in  the 
sense  that  John  Randolph  was,  for  he  was  willing  to  see 
the  range  of  national  activity  widen,  so  long  as  it  was  in  ac 
cordance  with  the  will  of  a  concurrent  majority  and  thus 
oppressed  no  one  section  or  interest. 

In  1828  Calhoun  prepared  an  elaborate  account  of  his 
views  for  the  use  of  the  South  Carolina  legislature,  which 
adopted  and  published  it  under  the  title  of  the  South  Carolina 


WEBSTER-HAYNE   DEBATE  2OI 

Exposition.  In  1830,  in  the  debate  on  the  Foote  resolution 
with  regard  to  public  lands,  Robert  Y.  Hayne,  a  senator  from 
South  Carolina,  speaking  under  the  eye  of  Calhoun,  the  Vice 
President,  elaborately  explained  and  defended  these  views, 
and  sought  to  win  for  them  the  support  of  the  West  by  recall 
ing  the  long  alliance  between  that  section  and  the  South. 
Daniel  Webster  responded,  and  there  followed  the  most  famous 
debate  in  American  legislative  history.  Webster  asserted  that 
the  Union  was  older  than  the  states.  He  maintained  that  the 
Convention  of  1787  effectually  framed,  not  a  compact,  but  a 
government,  which  was  sovereign  within  the  range  of  powers 
specified  in  the  Constitution ;  that  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  was  the  only  proper  arbiter  as  to  the  extent  of  these  pow 
ers,  He  attacked  Hayne's  idea  as  bad  history,  bad  law,  and 
as  utterly  impracticable.  Webster's  speech  was  far  more 
than  a  constitutional  argument.  It  was  a  defense  of  the  Union 
against  the  spirit  of  sectionism.  It  was  filled  with  praise  of 
the  Union  and  what  it  had  done  and  was  to  do  for  the  country. 
It  appealed  to  all  to  sink  their  differences  in  the  struggle  for 
the  common  good,  and  not  only  did  it  thrill  the  audience 
which  he  held  spellbound  in  the  Senate  chamber,  but  its 
glowing  periods  carried  conviction  and  enthusiasm  to  tens 
of  thousands  throughout  the  country.  Oratorically  the 
triumph  rested  with  Webster,  but  in  most  respects  it  was  a 
drawn  battle.  Historically  neither  view  was  wholly  sound. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  framers  of  the  Constitution 
intended,  as  John  Marshall's  decisions  indicated,  to  divide 
the  sovereignty.  There  was  nothing  in  the  political  think 
ing  of  the  eighteenth  century  to  cause  that  to  be  considered 
impossible.  Here  Webster  clung  nearer  to  the  past  than 
Hayne,  for  he  recognized  that  the  states  were  sovereign  as 
well  as  the  Union,  while  the  latter  utterly  denied  any  sover 
eignty  to  Union.  Probably,  however,  as  his  opponents 
asserted,  Webster's  views  tended,  if  carried  to  their  logical 
conclusion,  to  exalt  the  Union  almost  as  much  as  Hayne's 


202  JACKSON  AND   SOUTH   CAROLINA 

exalted  the  states.  Webster  carried  with  him  the  greater  part 
of  the  country.  The  northeastern  states,  profiting  as  they 
did  by  the  western  and  southern  markets  for  their  products, 
and  by  the  navigation  and  tariff  acts,  were  becoming  every 
year  more  devoted  to  the  Union.  Hayne  spoke  to  the  grow 
ing  cotton  interest,  whose  feeling  for  the  Union  was  so  mdely 
shaken  by  the  oppression  of  the  tariff,  that  many  were  coming 
to  believe  that  independence  and  an  alliance  with  England 
might  best  promote  its  prosperity.  The  impression  which  the 
two  senators  made  on  the  West,  to  which  they  were  both  appeal 
ing,  was  a  divided  one.  The  northern  hostility  to  a  liberal  land 
policy  was  the  very  cause  of  the  debate,  and  its  opposition  to 
expansion  had  not  been  forgotten.  The  West,  moreover,  was 
thoroughly  in  favor  of  local  self-government,  or  state  rights. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  had  been  strongly  unionist  in  sentiment 
ever  since  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  and  could  not  afford  to  lose 
the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  the  markets  for  its  prod 
ucts  in  the  South  and  in  the  East,  and  national  protection 
for  its  sugar,  hemp,  and  wool.  Moreover,  in  the  West,  Web 
ster's  argument  that  the  Union  was  older  than  the  states  was 
literally  true,  and  the  new  states  there  lacked  the  historic 
traditions  that  endeared  the  older  states  to  their  inhabitants. 
Jackson  and  Upon  the  West,  as  represented  by  Jackson,  Calhoun  re 

lied  to  obtain  a  reduction  of  the  tariff ;  if  that  failed,  he  hoped 
that  Jackson's  state  rights  principles  would  cause  him  to  tol 
erate  peaceful  nullification.  Calhoun  and  Jackson,  however, 
did  not  get  on  well  together,  and  Van  Buren  steadily  under 
mined  Calhoun 's  influence.  Van  Buren  had  the  advantage 
of  being  more  congenial  socially  and  more  willing  to  be  an 
instrument,  for  it  was  becoming  evident  that  Jackson  was 
to  be  the  real  head  of  his  administration  and  desired  assist 
ants  rather  than  mentors.  The  first  breach  came  on  April  13, 
1830,  when  Jackson  was  invited  to  a  banquet  given  by  cer 
tain  southern  congressmen  on  Jefferson's  birthday.  After 
much  state  sovereignty  oratory,  he  was  asked  to  give  a  toast, 


CABINET  REORGANIZATION  203 

and  proposed:  "Our  Federal  Union,  it  must  be  preserved," 
a  phrase  which  rallied  the  Union  sentiment  of  the  country 
even  more  than  Webster's  oratory.  Just  after  this,  a  power 
ful  weapon  fell  into  the  hands  of  Calhoun's  foes.  William 
H.  Crawford  wrote  a  letter  in  which  he  asserted  that  in  1818, 
when  both  he  and  Calhoun  had  been  members  of  the  cabinet, 
the  latter  had  been  in  favor  of  censuring  Jackson  for  his 
action  in  Florida.  This  letter,  produced  at  the  proper  time, 
made  Jackson  intensely  angry.  He  could  not  realize  that 
Calhoun  might  be  his  friend  and  still  have  proposed  such 
action,  and  he  wrote,  demanding  an  explanation.  Calhoun 
made  every  effort  to  present  the  matter  in  the  most  favorable 
light,  but  no  impression  was  made  on  Jackson,  who  on  May 
30,  1831,  broke  off  all  communication  with  the  Vice  Presi 
dent. 

The  break  between  Calhoun  and  the  President  was  followed  The  new 
by  a  reformation  of  the  cabinet.  All  but  one  of  Jackson's  cabmet- 
own  supporters  resigned  to  accept  other  positions,  and  Cal 
houn's  friends  were  forced  to  retire.  The  new  cabinet  was 
much  more  representative  of  the  party  than  was  the  old. 
The  Secretary  of  State,  Edward  Livingston,  was  a  very  able 
man  and  a  great  friend  of  Jackson's.  Lewis  Cass,  Secretary 
of  War,  and  Levi  Woodbury,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  were 
democratic  leaders  in  the  Northwest  and  in-  New  England, 
respectively;  Louis  McLane  of  Delaware,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  Roger  B.  Taney  of  Maryland,  the  Attorney- 
General,  continued  to  be  prominent  for  many  years.  At 
the  same  time,  the  patronage  of  the  administration  was  with 
drawn  from  Calhoun's  organ,  the  Telegraph,  and  was  given  to 
a  new  paper,  the  Globe,  founded  by  Blair  and  Rives  in  the 
interests  of  Jackson.  The  summer  of  1831  saw,  therefore, 
the  total  reorganization  of  the  administration,  and  the  com 
plete  cutting  off  of  one  powerful  faction  of  the  Jackson  party. ) 

Meantime,  Congress  was  giving  as  little   consideration  Tariff  legis 
lation,  1830- 
to  the  economic  views  of  the  cotton  planters  as  Jackson  was  1832. 


204  JACKSON  AND  SOUTH  CAROLINA 

to  Calhoun's  constitutional  theories.  In  his  first  message 
Jackson  had  commented  on  the  fact  that  the  approaching 
payment  of  the  debt  made  it  necessary  to  plan  for  a  reduc 
tion  of  the  tariff,  and  that  "the  duties  on  those  articles  which 
cannot  come  in  competition  with  our  own  productions  are 
the  first  which  should  engage  the  attention  of  Congress." 
This  distinctly  protectionist  idea  was  actually  carried  out  by 
a  reduction  of  duties  on  tea  and  coffee.  The  next  Congress 
took  up  the  matter  more  seriously.  Clay,  who  was  now  in  the 
Senate,  moved  a  resolution  to  the  effect  "  that  the  existing 
duties  upon  articles  imported  from  foreign  countries,  and 
not  coming  in  competition  with  similar  articles  made  or  pro 
duced  in  the  United  States,  ought  to  be  forthwith  abolished. 
..."  This  represented  the  protectionist  ideal  of  a  re 
duction  of  the  revenue  without  a  reduction  of  protection. 
Hayne  proposed  "  that  the  existing  duties  upon  articles 
imported  from  foreign  countries  should  be  so  reduced  that 
the  amount  of  the  public  revenue  shall  be  sufficient  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  the  government  according  to  their  present 
scale  after  the  payment  of  the  public  debt ;  and  that,  allow 
ing  a  reasonable  time  for  a  gradual  reduction  of  the  present 
high  duties  on  the  articles  coming  into  competition  with 
similar  articles  made  or  produced  in  the  United  States,  the 
duties  be  ultimately  equalized  so  that  the  duty  on  no  article 
shall,  as  compared  with  the  value  of  that  article,  vary  mate 
rially  from  the  general  average."  The  bill,  as  finally  passed, 
was  largely  the  work  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  who  was  now  a 
member  of  the  House  and  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
manufactures.  It  was  largely  in  accordance  with  Clay's 
resolution.  The  chief  "  abominations "  of  the  tariff  of  1828 
were  done  away  with,  but  reduction  was  accomplished  mainly 
by  putting  noncompetitive  articles  on  the  free  list.  The 
protectionists  claimed  that  by  redressing  the  worst  grievances 
this  new  tariff  of  1832  would  render  the  protective  system 
more  popular  than  ever,  and  mean  its  permanent  adoption. 


NULLIFICATION  APPLIED  205 

The  time  had  now  come  when,  if  ever,  South  Cafolina  Nullification 
should  try  the  efficiency  of  its  newly  forged  weapon  of  nulli-  applied< 
fication.     At  this  critical  moment  there  was  a  sharp  division 
within  the  state,  and  the  party  of  action  won  by  a  vote  of 
only  23,000  to  17,000.     The  decision  made,  the  legislature 
called  a  convention,  and  the  convention  on  November  24, 

1832,  declared  the  tariff  act  null  and  void  after  February  i, 

1833.  No  appeals  were  to  be  allowed  to  United  States  courts, 
and  if  force  were  used,  the  state  would  be  driven  to  the  more 
extreme  remedy  of  secession.     On  December  18  South  Caro 
lina  suggested  a  convention  of  states  to  discuss  the  questions 
involved.     If  the  South  Carolina  leaders  expected  that  Jack 
son's  respect  for  the  rights  of  the  states  would  paralyze  the 
action  of  the  central  government,  they  were  speedily  un 
deceived.     On  December  10  he  issued  a  proclamation  drawn 
up  by  the  new  secretary  of  state,  Edward  Livingston,  which 
denied  in  emphatic  language  and  with  cogent  arguments 
both  the  right  of  nullification  and  that  of  secession,  and  was 
as  strongly  nationalistic  as  Webster's  reply  to  Hayne.     His 
determination  to  preserve  the  Union  and  enforce  the  laws 
was  expressed  firmly  in  the  proclamation,  with  the  accom 
paniment  of  profanity  in  private  conversation,  and  in  action 
by  giving  General  Scott  the  necessary  orders  to  collect  the 
revenues  in  Charleston  harbor. 

South  Carolina  expected  support  from  other  states,  par-  Unpopular; 
ticularly  those  in  which  the  cotton  interest  was  important,  cation nU 
Calhoun  firmly  believed  that  if  he  could  but  rally  these  states 
to  a  unity  of  action,  they  could  dominate  the  country.  Here 
he  and  his  supporters  met  a  decided  disappointment.  Al 
though  some  states  expressed  opposition  to  the  tariff,  and 
Georgia  and  Alabama  proposed  conventions,  —  the  one,  of  the 
southern  states,  and  the  other,  of  all  the  states,  —  no  state 
supported  the  constitutional  position  of  South  Carolina,  and 
several  officially  condemned  nullification,  and  expressed  their 
confidence  in  the  general  government.  The  Gulf  States,  with 


206 


JACKSON  AND   SOUTH  CAROLINA 


Compromise 
of  1833. 


Compromise 
tariff  act. 


their  fresh  fields,  did  not  feel  the  pinch  of  the  tariff  as  did 
South  Carolina.  Moreover,  the  national  government  was 
at  this  very  moment  performing  the  inestimable  service  of 
driving  out  the  Indians  and  opening  wide  new  areas  to  culti 
vation.  Men  could  not  seriously  fear  the  consolidating 
tendencies  of  an  administration  which  was  standing  between 
them  and  the  Supreme  Court.  South  Carolina  was  thus 
left  to  stand  alone. 

While  the  state  did  not  secure  any  support  for  its  con 
stitutional  views,  it  did  cause  a  reconsideration  of  the  tariff. 
Jackson  led  the  way  by  advising  a  change:  "In  effecting 
this  adjustment,  it  is  due,  in  justice  to  the  interests  of  the 
different  states,  and  even  to  the  preservation  of  the  Union 
itself,  that  the  protection  afforded  by  existing  laws  to  any 
branches  of  the  national  industry  should  not  exceed  what 
may  be  necessary  to  counteract  the  regulations  of  foreign  na 
tions  and  to  secure  a  supply  of  those -articles  of  manufacture 
essential  to  the  national  independence  and  safety  in  time  of 
war."  Calhoun  resigned  from  the  vice  presidency  in  order 
to  be  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate  during  this  vital  discussion, 
and  South  Carolina  suspended  the  date  of  nullification  to 
give  Congress  a  fair  chance  to  repent,  and  to  repeal  the  bill 
it  had  just  passed. 

The  debate  in  Congress  showed  a  decided  weakening  in 
the  protectionist  forces.  This  was  partly  due  to  natural 
causes,  and  partly  to  a  general  dislike  to  force  to  a  crisis  the 
issue  presented  by  South  Carolina.  The  matter  dragged, 
however,  and  it  seemed  quite  possible  that  Congress  would 
adjourn  without  action.  In  the  middle  of  February,  urged 
by  the  seriousness  of  the  situation,  Clay  conferred  with  Cal 
houn,  and  with  his  approval  introduced  a  bill.  With  the 
leader  of  the  protectionists  and  the  leader  of  the  opposition 
united  in  its  support  this  bill  was  rapidly  passed  through 
Congress  and  became  a  law  March  2,  1833.  It  was  essen 
tially  the  act  of  1832  with  a  slight  increase  in  the  duty  on 


COMPROMISE  TARIFF  OF   1833  207 

woolens.  In  all  cases  where  the  duty  exceeded  twenty  per 
cent,  however,  one  tenth  of  this  excess  was  to  be  removed 
every  two  years  until  1840;  on  January  i,  1842,  one  half  of 
the  remaining  excess  was  to  be  taken  off,  and  on  July  i,  the 
other  half.  The  result  would  be,  on  July  i,  1842,  a  uniform 
horizontal  tariff  of  twenty  per  cent  as  Hayne  proposed  in 
his  resolution. 

While  Congress  thus  offered  an  olive  branch  with  one  The  force 
hand,  it  at  the  same  time  condemned  nullification  by  passing,  actf 
on  March  i,  a  force  bill  giving  the  President  powers  adequate 
for  dealing  with  the  situation.     In  South  Carolina  the  con 
vention  came  together  again  and,  declaring  itself  satisfied 
with  the  new  tariff,  withdrew  its  nullifying  resolution,  March 
J5>  I^33-     On  March  18  it  nullified  the  force  bill,  a  pro 
ceeding  quite  harmless,  as  the  President  now  had  no  occasion 
for  acting  under  it. 

As  regards  protection,  the  tariff  of  1833  was  distinctly  Effect  of  the 
a  compromise.  Clay  claimed  that  he  had  really  proved  him-  comPromise- 
self  the  savior  of  protection,  for  the  new  Congress,  elected 
in  the  fall  of  1832,  would  have  reduced  the  tariff  very  con 
siderably;  now,  bound  by  the  compromise  measure,  the 
tariff  would  remain  fairly  protective  until  1842,  and  then  a 
new  bill  could  be  drawn  up.  Calhoun  claimed  that  by  adopt 
ing  the  compromise  measure  Congress  had  bound  itself  to  the 
view  that  protection  was  justifiable  only  as  a  temporary 
measure ;  that  the  time  for  its  abandonment  was  fixed  in 
the  bill,  and  that  in  the  future  the  tariff  would  be  levied  on 
the  horizontal  basis.  The  question  of  the  right  of  nulli 
fication  also  remained  technically  open.  Calhoun  claimed 
that  it  had  proved  entirely  successful ;  that  by  it  South  Caro 
lina  had  obtained  redress  that  it  could  have  found  in  no  other 
way.  The  general  impression  in  the  country  at  large  was 
decidedly  different.  The  repudiation  of  the  doctrine  by  all 
the  states  that  expressed  themselves  on  the  subject,  and 
particularly  the  emphatic  tone  of  the  President's  proclama- 


208 


JACKSON  AND   SOUTH  CAROLINA 


tion,  backed  up  as  it  was  by  acts,  and  supported  by  the  pas 
sage  of  the  force  bill,  32  to  i  in  the  Senate  and  no  to  40 
in  the  House,  impressed  upon  all  the  fact  that  the  Union 
could  and  would  enforce  its  laws.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
nullification  was  not  again  tried.  Politically  the  nullifica 
tion  controversy  cleared  the  situation  in  many  ways,  par 
ticularly  by  showing  the  difference  between  the  state  rights 
views  of  Jackson,  who  believed  in  leaving  much  public 
business  to  the  control  of  the  states,  but  who,  nevertheless, 
looked  upon  the  Union  as  permanent ;  and  the  position  of 
those  who  by  state  rights  meant  that  the  Union  had  no 
sovereign  powers.  The  unqualified  Union  doctrine,  set  forth 
in  Jackson's  proclamation,  alarmed  many  who  disapproved 
of  South  Carolina's  action,  but  were  fearful  of  a  consolidated 
general  government.  Many  conservative  southern  thinkers 
began  to  act  independently  of  the  Democratic  party,  which 
its  leaders  had  made  so  emphatically  the  party  of  the  Union. 
The  crisis  caused  by  the  tariff  system  was  thus  passed,  but 
not  without  a  decided  shock  to  the  nation,  and  permanent 
political  results. 


Sources. 


Historical 
accounts. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

American  History  Leaflets,  no.  30.  Calhoun,  J.  C.,  Works,  I, 
1-107  (Disquisition  on  Government) ;  IV,  164-212  (Speech  on  the 
Tariff) ;  VI,  1-208  (Papers  on  Nullification) .  Congressional  De 
bates,  2oth  Cong.,  i  sess.,  2382-2406  (Speech  of  McDufEe  on  the 
tariff,  perhaps  the  best  exposition  of  South  Carolina's  views) ; 
2ist  Cong.,  i  sess.,  43-9 2  (Speeches  of  Webster  and  Hayne,  which 
are  also  to  be  found  in  Macdonald,  W.,  Select  Documents,  nos. 
47-49,  53,  55,  and  56;  and  many  other  places).  For  Jackson's 
Proclamation,  see  Richardson,  Messages,  II,  640-666.  For  doc 
uments  see  H.  V.  Ames,  State  Documents. 

In  addition  to  the  general  accounts  mentioned  at  the  close  of 
the  last  chapter:  Hoist,  von,  Calhoun,  ch.  IV.  Houston,  D.  F., 
Nullification  in  South  Carolina.  Lodge,  H.  C.,  Webster,  chs.  VI, 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  209 

VII.  McLaughlin,  A.  C.,  Lewis  Cass,  139-149.  Schafer,  W.  A., 
Sectionalism  and  Representation  in  South  Carolina  (Am.  Hist. 
Assoc.,  Report,  1900,  vol.  I),  384-400.  Stanwood,  E.,  American 
Tariff  Controversies,  chs.  VIII,  IX.  Sumner,  W.  G.,  A.  Jackson, 
ch.  VII,  ch.  VIII,  sec.  7.  Taussig,  F.  W.,  Tariff  History,  74- 
112.  Turner,  F.  J.,  New  West,  314-333- 


CHAPTER  XIII 
JACKSON  AND  THE  BANK 

The  bank  WHILE  Jackson  and  his  party  emerged  from  the  nulli 

fication  struggle  distinctly  pledged  to  support  the  Union, 
they  were  not  committed  either  for  or  against  a  protective 
tariff.  In  fact  the  compromise  took  the  tariff  out  of  politics 
for  ten  years,  and  political  issues  had  to  be  sought  elsewhere. 
The  main  issue  had  already  been  formulated  before  the  tariff 
compromise  had  been  arranged.  Few  persons  in  the  older 
states  imagined  in  1828  £hat  the  existence  of  the  National 
Bank  would  by  1832  becpme  the  leading  question  of  party 
division,  but  it  was  a  question  that  the  frontier  was  deter 
mined  to  press,  and  with  j:he  will  the  frontier  had  the  power. 

The  currency.  A  frontier  community  is  always  in  search  of  capital,  for 
opportunities  to  expend  it  are  innumerable  and  accumula 
tion  has  not  yet  begun.  It  was  to  answer  this  demand  that 
Adams  and  Clay  proposed  to  have  the  national  government 
undertake  internal  improvements,  and  that  Jackson  wished 
to  give  to  the  western  states  the  public  land.  These  plans 
had  little  practical  result  until  the  distribution  bill  of  1836, 
and  western  states  and  individuals  were  supplying  themselves 
as  they  could  by  borrowing.  Throughout  the  frontier  the 
bulk  of  the  inhabitants  were  debtors,  and  the  most  enter 
prising  owed  the  largest  sums;  there  was  a  general  com 
munity  of  interest,  and  a  tendency  to  look  at  all  questions 
from  the  debtor  rather  than  the  creditor  point  of  view.  This 
showed  itself  particularly  with  regard  to  the  currency.  There 
was  a  demand  for  an  abundant  supply  of  money ;  there  was 
less  interest  in  its  stability.  The  people  wanted  to  get  money 


OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  BANK  211 

easily  to  pay  their  debts ;  they  did  not  feel  keenly  the  neces 
sity  of  paying  in  money  worth  one  hundred  cents  on  the 
dollar.  The  states  were  forbidden  by  the  Constitution  to 
emit  bills  of  credit,  and  thus  the  financial  expedients  resorted 
to  differed  from  those  of  the  Shays 's  Rebellion  period,  though 
the  situation  was  in  many  respects  similar.  It  was  dis 
covered  that  the  states  could  charter  banks,  and  that  these 
banks  could  emit  bills  of  credit  and  thus  partly  satisfy  the 
demand.  As  creditors  refused  to  accept  such  bills  at  their 
face  value,  it  was  thought  desirable  to  make  them  legal  tender, 
and  thus  compel  their  acceptance  somewhat  as  Rhode  Is 
land  had  done  in  1786.  Kentucky  took  such  action,  where 
upon  the  state  supreme  court  declared  the  act  void  on  the 
ground  that  it  violated  the  United  States  Constitution,  which 
prohibits  a  state  from  making  "anything  but  gold  and  silver 
Coin  a  Tender  in  Payment  of  Debts."  This  decision  was 
at  once  attacked  by  the  "Relief"  party,  and  in  1825,  by  a 
vote  of  38,000  to  22,000,  a  legislature  was  elected  pledged 
to  erect  a  new  supreme  court.  The  next  year  saw  a  reaction, 
and  the  matter  was  not  forced,  but  the  strength  of  the  de 
mand  for  an  easy  currency  was  made  evident.  The  sup 
porters  of  state  banks,  which  were  thus  refused  the  indorse 
ment  which  their  states  were  anxious  to  give  them,  were 
naturally  opposed  to  the  United  States  Bank,  whose  notes 
were  freely  accepted  by  creditors  both  public  and  private.! 
They  believed  that  if  this  giant,  privileged  corporation, 
were  once  removed,  they  would  be  able  to  furnish  a  cur 
rency  satisfactory  to  creditor  and  debtor  alike.  They 
disliked  the  strict  and  inflexible  rules  by  which  its  branches 
regulated  their  relations  with  the  state  banks,  thus  keep 
ing  business  up  to  a  standard  which  public  opinion  believed 
too  high.  The  frontier  wished  to  set  its  own  business 
standards. 

To  those  who  opposed  the  National  Bank  as  a  competitor  The  Bank 
of  the  state  banks  were  added  those  who  feared  it  as  a  great 


212  JACKSON  AND  THE  BANK 

corporation  and  representative  of  the  money  power.  At  first 
it  had  been  as  liberal  in  making  loans  and  in  encouraging 
speculation  as  the  better  state  banks ;  it  extended  its  credit 
so  far,  in  fact,  that  it  was  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy.  At 
this  time  Langdon  Cheves  had  become  president  and  adopted 
a  rigorous  conservative  policy  which  brought  the  Bank  out 
of  its  difficulties  and  enabled  it  to  weather  the  crisis  of  1819 ; 
but  the  Bank  was  saved  at  the  expense  of  foreclosures  that 
ruined  hundreds  of  those  who  owed  it  money,  and  brought 
into  its  hands  immense  amounts  of  general  property.  Ben- 
ton  said :  "I  know  towns,  yea  cities,  where  this  bank  already 
appears  as  an  engrossing  proprietor."  "All  the  flourishing 
cities  of  the  West  are  mortgaged  to  this  money  power.  They 
may  be  devoured  by  it  at  any  moment.  They  are  in  the 
jaws  of  the  monster !  A  lump  of  butter  in  the  mouth  of  a 
dog  !  One  gulp,  one  swallow,  and  all  is  gone." 

Objections  to  Jackson,  Benton,  and  others  of  the  western  leaders  had 
general!1  still  another  ground  of  opposition.  They  had  seen  the  evil 
effects  of  the  overissues  of  paper  money  during  the  War  of 
1812  and  of  the  contraction  by  the  National  Bank  in  1819. 
They  became  doubtful  of  the  value  of  banks  at  all,  and  sus 
picious  of  all  money  except  hard  cash.  Jackson  in  1829 
wrote  to  Nicholas  Biddle,  the  new  president  of  the  United 
States  Bank :  "I  do  not  dislike  your  bank  any  more  than  all 
banks,  but  ever  since  I  read  the  history  of  the  South  Sea 
Bubble  I  have  been  afraid  of  banks."  They  feared  also 
,  the  influence  of  banks  in  politics,  and  with  some  reason. 

Up  to  this  time  all  banks  were  chartered  by  special  act  of  a 
state  legislature  or  of  Congress,  and  no  legislature  would 
think  of  granting  a  charter  to  a  bank  whose  board  of  directors 
belonged  to  the  party  in  opposition  to  the  legislative  majority. 
Banks  were  often  as  closely  connected  with  some  party  or 
faction  as  were  the  newspapers,  using  their  credit  to  further 
the  schemes  of  their  partisans.  Jefferson  had  written  to 
Gallatin  that  it  would  be  advisable  to  make  all  banks  Re- 


THE  BANK  AND  THE  GOVERNMENT      213 

publican  by  sharing  the  national  deposits  among  them.  It 
was,  therefore,  not  unnatural  to  suspect  the  greatest  of  all 
banks  of  being  concerned  in  politics. 

The  constitutional  question  seemed  to  have  been  settled  The  Bank 
by  the  decisions  of  John  Marshall,  but,  as  has  been  seen  in  government. 
the  case  of  the  Indiajns,  Jackson  did  not  consider  the  judg 
ments  of  the  Supreme  Court  binding  on  the  executive.  In 
the  letter  to  Biddle  just  referred  to,  Jackson  states  his  con 
stitutional  doubts  and  inclinations.  His  preferences  were 
for  a  bank  belonging  entirely  to  the  government  and  with  its 
home  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  He  disliked  the  mingling 
of  public  and  private  business  as  he  did  of  state  and  national 
functions.  He  wished  all  government  affairs  to  be  so  simple 
that  the  humblest  citizen  could  understand  them;  all  com 
plexities  were  obnoxious  to  his  temperament  and  to  the  men 
whom  he  represented. 

Even  before  Jackson's  election,  hostility  to  the  Bank  was  Opening  of 
a  political  asset.  In  1827  one  Illinois  politician  wrote  to 
another  with  respect  to  a  third:  "The  Bank  is  suing  every 
body  —  several  thousand  dollars  are  now  in  judgment,  and 
there  is  not  money  to  meet  the  emergency.  Many  appeals 
are  taken,  and  McLean  is  the  defendant's  lawyer  in  all  the 
bank  cases.  He  takes  none  for  the  Bank,  nor  ever  has." 
"Such  are  the  distresses  of  the  people  and  his  usefulness  to 
them  as  a  lawyer  that  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  he  can  be 
excluded  from  the  legislature."  This  opposition  had  found 
its  way  into  national  politics,  and  bills  had  been  introduced 
into  Congress  for  the  sale  of  the  government  bank  stock  and 
for  reducing  the  amount  of  government  deposits  held  by 
the  Bank. 

This  agitation  over  the  bank  question  was  almost  entirely 
confined  to  the  frontier;  in  the  older  sections  of  the  country 
the  Bank  was  looked  upon  as  a  sound  institution,  doing  its 
work  well,  and  as  a  satisfactory  financial  agent  of  the  govern 
ment.  There  was,  therefore,  general  surprise  in  the  East 


214 


JACKSON  AND  THE  BANK 


Jackson's 
oiuhe  BanE 


Nicholas 
Biddle. 


The  crisia 


when  Jackson  referred  to  the  matter  in  his  first  annual  mes 
sage,  but  there  would  have  been  disappointment  in  the  West 
if  he  had  not  done  so.  He  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  charter  expired  in  1836,  and  that  the  question  of  a  rechar- 
ter  would  come  up.  "In  order  to  avoid  the  evils  resulting 
from  precipitancy  in  a  measure  involving  such  important 
principles  and  such  deep  pecuniary  interests,  I  feel  that  I 
cannot,  in  justice  to  the  parties  interested,  too  soon  present 
it  to  a  deliberate  consideration  of  the  legislature  and  the 
people.  Both  the  constitutionality  and  the  expediency  of 
the  law  creating  this  bank  are  well  questioned  by  a  large 
portion  of  our  fellow-citizens;  and  it  must  be  admitted  by 
all  that  it  has  failed  in  the  great  end  of  establishing  a  uniform 
and  sound  currency." 

This  message  was  a  great  disappointment  to  Biddle, 
who  was  on  good  terms  with  many  of  the  Jackson  leaders, 
particularly  with  Major  Lewis  of  the  "  kitchen  cabinet,"  and 
who  had  tried  to  conciliate  Jackson  by  placing  many  of  his 
supporters  on  the  directorates  of  the  branch  banks.  It 
placed  him  in  an  embarrassing  position,  for  he  could  not  tell 
whether  to  cling  to  Jackson  and  rely  on  overcoming  his  op 
position  by  allowing  a  few  changes  in  the  new  charter,  or 
to  fight  him  and  help  select  a  new  President  who  would  gen 
uinely  support  the  Bank.  The  alternative  of  doing  nothing 
and  simply  awaiting  events  was  impossible  for  Biddle,  who 
was  temperamentally  a  man  of  action.  His  dilemma  con 
tinued  even  after  the  break  between  Jackson  and  South 
Carolina,  for  McDufiie  was  the  leader  of  the  Bank  interest 
in  the  House,  while  the  new  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mc- 
Lane,  was  also  friendly  to  the  Bank. 

The  crisis  came  in  the  session  of  1831-1832.  Jackson 
referred  to  the  subject  in  his  message  and  left  it  to  the  judg 
ment  of  "an  enlightened  people."  If  nothing  were  done, 
and  Jackson  were  reflected,  the  Bank  would  be  entirely  at  his 
mercy.  If  an  appeal  were  to  be  taken  to  the  people,  the  issue 


THE   CRISIS  215 

must  be  framed  in  this  session  of  Congress  for  presentation 
in  the  fall  elections.  Many  of  the  leaders  of  the  opposition 
urged  Biddle  to  force  the  issue,  and  some  insinuated  that  he 
must  take  sides  if  he  expected  their  support.  On  January 
9,  1832,  he  applied  for  a  recharter.  Certain  modifications 
were  made  in  the  law  with  the  hope  of  making  it,  even  now, 
acceptable  to  Jackson.  Before  the  bill  was  passed  an  in 
vestigation  was  ordered,  which  proved  satisfactory  to  the 
Bank's  friends,  and  the  bill  was  passed  in  the  Senate,  28  to  20, 
and  in  the  House  109  to  79. 

It  now  rested  with  Jackson  to  sign  the  bill  or  take  issue 
with  a  decided  majority  in  Congress.  It  required  no  small 
political  courage,  on  the  eve  of  a  presidential  election,  to 
take  a  position  on  a  question  on  which  his  own  party  was 
divided,  and  which  he  might  easily  avoid  by  accepting  the 
vote  in  Congress  as  the  decision  of  the  "enlightened  people," 
to  whose  judgment  he  had  left  the  question  in  December. 
He,  however,  accepted  the  issue  squarely,  vetoing  the  bill  The  new 
in  a  message  which  was  intended  to  be  the  leading  political  vetoed! 
document  in  the  next  campaign.  He  was  not  satisfied  with 
the  modifications  made  in  the  charter.  He  contended  that 
the  charter  created  a  monopoly:  "The  powers,  privileges, 
and  favors  bestowed  upon  it  in  the  original  charter,  by  in 
creasing  the  value  of  the  stock  above  its  par  value,  operated 
as  a  gratuity  of  many  millions  to  the  stockholders."  The  re- 
charter  would  raise  the  value  twenty  to  thirty  per  cent  more 
and  be  practically  an  additional  gratuity  of  at  least  $7,000,000. 
The  whole  monopoly  he  estimated  to  be  worth  $17,000,000, 
and  it  was  being  sold  for  an  annual  payment  of  $200,000  for 
fifteen  years,  or  $3,000,000  in  all.  In  other  respects  he 
found  that  the  charter  created  distinction  between  the  "high 
and  the  low,  the  rich  and  the  poor."  He  pointed  out  that 
the  bank  stock  was  held  almost  entirely  in  the  East,  the 
South,  and  in  Europe,  while  nearly  half  its  profits  were 
derived  from  its  western  business;  thus  making  its  divi- 


2l6  JACKSON  AND  THE   BANK 

dends  a  tax  upon  western  industry.  He  threw  doubt  on 
its  constitutionality,  and  hinted  at  the  dangerous  political 
influence  it  might  wield.  The  message  skillfully  combined 
arguments  against  a  national  bank  in  general  with  those 
against  this  bank  in  particular,  and  appealed  to  American 
prejudice  against  foreigners,  western  prejudice  against  the 
East,  the  distrust  of  the  poor  for  the  rich,  and  the  hatred  of 
democracy  for  privilege. 

The  Anti-  Attention  was  now  concentrated   on    the   approaching 

election.  The  first  nomination  was  made  by  a  new  party 
formed  upon  a  special  issue.  In  1826  a  certain  William 
Morgan,  who  had  printed  a  book  purporting  to  reveal  the 
secrets  of  Freemasonry,  disappeared,  and  the  rumor  grew 
that  he  had  been  abducted  by  the  Masons.  The  Masonic 
order  was  powerful  at  this  time,  not  only  in  America,  but  in 
other  countries,  and  the  Masons  belonged  generally  to  the 
wealthier  classes  of  society.  It  was  claimed  that  they  used 
their  influence  in  juries  and  in  legislatures  to  advance  the 
interests  of  their  fellows.  Suspicion  spread  like  wildfire  through 
the  rural  districts  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  New 
England.  All  secret  societies  were  attacked,  and  men  so 
sane  and  experienced  as  John  Quincy  Adams  and  Edward 
Everett  spent  days  in  discussing  whether  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
should  reveal  its  secrets  to  the  world.  This  movement  was 
taken  hold  of  by  a  number  of  very  able  young  political 
leaders,  such  as  Thurlow  Weed  and  William  Seward  in 
New  York,  and  Thaddeus  Stevens  in  Pennsylvania.  They 
made  it  bulk  large  in  local  politics,  and  with  a  view  to 
improving  their  position  at  home,  they  caused  to  be  held,  in 
1830,  the  first  genuine  national  party  convention  in  Ameri 
can  history,  and  in  September,  1831,  they  met  again  at 
Baltimore,  and  selected  William  Wirt  as  candidate  for  the 
presidency. 

The  National         In  naming   a   candidate  so   early,   the  Antimasons  had 
Repu  icans.    ^oped  to  combine  all  the  opposition  to  Jackson,  but  in  this 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1832  217 

they  were  unsuccessful.  The  great  bulk  of  the  opposition 
wished  to  vote  for  Henry  Clay.  He  was  a  natural  leader  of 
men;  he  could  not  move  about  the  country  on  private  busi 
ness  without  an  accompaniment  of  public  dinners  and  an 
atmosphere  of  triumph,  and  in  the  session  of  Congress  just 
finished  he  had  led  the  opposition  in  the  Senate.  His  name 
was  formally  presented  by  a  National  Republican  conven 
tion  at  Baltimore  in  December,  1831,  and  also  by  a  national 
assembly  of  young  men  at  Washington  in  May,  1832,  which 
adopted  the  first  national  party  platform. 

After  the  break  with  Calhoun,  it  was  inevitable  that  The  Demo- 
Jackson  should  be  the  Democratic  candidate.  To  be  sure, 
he  had  declared  himself  opposed  to  the  reelection  of  a  Presi 
dent,  but  he  believed  it  should  be  prevented  by  constitutional 
amendment;  while  the  people  allowed  it,  he  had  no  scruples 
in  accepting  it.  The  Democratic  convention  was  held  in 
Baltimore  in  May,  1832.  The  only  question  was  with  re 
gard  to  the  vice  presidency.  Jackson  desired  Van  Buren, 
but  there  was  strong  opposition  to  him,  on  the  ground  that 
he  was  a  time-serving  politician.  It  was  largely  with  the 
idea  of  strengthening  Van  Buren  that  a  national  convention 
was  held  at  all.  As  a  result  of  skillful  manipulation,  Van 
Buren  was  chosen,  though  probably  in  opposition  to  the  wish 
of  the  majority  of  the  Democrats  of  the  country.  The  Demo 
crats  of  Pennsylvania  voted  in  the  election  for  a  candidate  of 
their  own. 

In  the  campaign  which  followed  these  nominations,  the  The  cam- 
main  issues  were  the  existence  of  the  National  Bank,  and  F 
the  defense  of  the  administration.     The  National  Republi 
cans  placed  first  in  their  program  the  protective  system,  but 
that  could  not  be  made  an  issue  because  so  many  of  the  Demo 
crats  were  protectionists  also,  and  Jackson  had  just  signed 
the  tariff  of  1832,  which  was  reasonably  satisfactory  to  that 
element.   On  internal  improvements  the  situation  was  clearer, 
and  the  result  of  the  election  seeras  to  show  that  Jackson 


2l8  JACKSON  AND  THE  BANK 

lost  some  few  votes  because  of  his  opposition  to  expending 
national  money  for  such  purposes.  The  attitude  of  the 
administration  toward  the  civil  service  was  much  discussed 
but  exerted  little  influence. 

The  election.  The  result  of  the  election  was  surprising  in  showing  that 
in  spite  of  the  new  issues  before  the  country,  and  of  the  active 
record  of  the  administration,  the  people  voted  almost  pre 
cisely  as  they  had  four  years  before.  Jackson  gained  about 
40,000  votes;  Clay  and  Wirt,  together,  about  20,000  as 
compared  with  Adams  in  1828.  The  changes  in  the  elec 
toral  vote  were  greater,  but  are  easily  accounted  for.  Clay 
naturally  gained  Kentucky,  where  his  popularity  as  a  favorite 
son  was  enhanced  by  his  advocacy  of  internal  improvements. 
Jackson  gained  Maine  and  New  Hampshire  rather  because 
the  Democrats  in  those  states  were  brought  to  the  polls  by 
better  organization  than  because  they  were  more  numerous 
than  before.  He  gained  in  New  York  because  that  state 
now  chose  its  electors  upon  a  general  ticket  rather  than  by 
districts  as  it  had  in  1828,  when  its  vote  was  divided  20 
to  16.  New  Jersey  had  voted  for  Adams  and  now  voted 
for  Jackson,  but  this  was  brought  about  by  the  change  of  only 
a  few  hundred  votes.  The  only  significant  change  was  in 
South  Carolina.  Actual  nullification  did  not  take  place  until 
the  election  was  over,  but  the  break  between  Calhoun  and 
Jackson,  and  the  passage  of  the  tariff  of  1832,  had  effectually 
alienated  that  state,  which  cast  its  vote  for  John  Floyd  of 
Virginia.  In  spite  of  this  opening  breach  Jackson  held  all  the 
rest  of  the  Cotton  South.  Gratitude  for  his  Indian  policy  and 
confidence  in  the  state  rights  views  of  a  man  who  ignored  John 
Marshall,  and  who  had  not  yet  issued  the  proclamation  in  reply 
to  nullification,  caused  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi 
to  vote  for  Jackson  as  before.  In  fact  the  election  showed 
that  the  people  still  regarded  it  as  fundamentally  important 
to  have  at  Washington  a  true  representative  of  their  ideas, 
and  that  they  regarded  Jackson  as  such  a  representative. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  219 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES 

Callender,  Economic  History,  564-592.     Richardson,  Messages,  Sources. 
II,    576-591.      Macdonald,    Select   Documents,   nos.    46,    50-52, 
57-68. 

In  addition  to  those  given  at  the  close  of  ch.  XI :     Catterall,   Historical 
R.  C.  H.,  Second  Bank  of  the  United  States,  186-314.    Dewey,   accounts- 
D.  R.,  State  Banking  before  the  Civil  War,  and  First  and  Second 
Banks  of  the  United  States.     Sumner,    E.    G.,  Jackson,  ch.  VI, 
sec.  9.     McCarthy,  C.,  The  Antimasonic  Party  (Am.  Hist.  Assoc., 
Report,  1902,  I,  pp.  371-464). 


CHAPTER  XIV 
JACKSON'S   SECOND   TERM 

The  war  on  ALTHOUGH  Jackson's  reelection  was  primarily  a  personal 
the  Bank.  triumph,  he  interpreted  it  as  a  popular  indorsement  of  all 
his  views;  from  that  time  he  considered  himself  as  the 
true  representative  of  the  people  and  distrusted  all  their 
other  representatives.  His  first  duty  was  to  deal  with 
nullification,  and  his  strong  and  successful  handling  of 
that  question  has  been  already  described.  With  the  settle 
ment  of  that  crisis  in  March,  1833,  he  resumed  with  vigor  the 
fight  with  the  money  power  as  personified  in  "Nick"  Biddle, 
president  of  the  Bank.  It  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  so 
powerful  an  institution  would  give  up  the  fight  for  its  life  as  a 
result  of  the  election.  It  still  had  four  years  in  which  to 
effect  its  salvation.  Jackson  genuinely  feared  that  it  would 
use  in  its  defense  the  immense  resources  at  its  disposal,  and 
he  had  little  confidence  in  the  ability  of  Congress  to  re 
sist  its  arguments.  The  report  of  1832  brought  out  the  fact 
that  the  question  of  its  loans  to  members  of  Congress  had 
been  dropped,  because  so  many  members  had  been  its  debtors. 
How  far  such  loans  might  influence  their  public  action  was 
a  question  which  probably  not  even  the  members  involved 
could  have  answered,  but  the  practice  was  obviously  danger 
ous.  Moreover,  the  willingness  of  the  Bank  to  spend  money 
in  its  own  behalf  was  indicated  by  its  distribution  of  literature 
for  use  in  the  campaign  of  1832.  It  was  also  true  that  the 
Bank  had  indulged  from  time  to  time  in  business  methods  of 
doubtful  wisdom.  These,  however,  were  not  on  a  scale 
really  to  endanger  its  solvency,  and  while  the  administra- 

220 


JACKSON  AND   THE  BANK  221 

tion  cited  them  to  strengthen  its  case  and  prove  that  govern 
ment  deposits  were  unsafe,  the  real  motive  for  its  subsequent 
policy  seems  to  have  been  the  political  one. 

In  this  situation  Jackson  and  his  advisers  were  not  con-  Removal  of 
tent  to  remain  quietly  on  the  defensive.  It  was  decided 
to  take  the  initiative  and  attack  the  Bank  by  removing  the 
government  deposits.  As  business  was  handled,  a  balance 
of  between  eight  and  nine  million  always  remained  in  the 
Bank.  This  large  sum,  upon  which  the  Bank  had  no  interest 
to  pay,  constituted  a  most  valuable  resource.  These  deposits 
were  in  the  charge  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  who  was, 
in  regard  to  them,  so  far  independent  of  the  President  that  he 
was  required  by  law  to  report  to  the  House  of  Representatives. 
The  first  necessary  step  was  to  secure  a  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  favorable  to  the  plan  of  removal.  McLane  was 
transferred  to  the  state  department,  and  William  J.  Duane 
appointed  to  succeed  him  at  the  treasury.  On  September 
1 8,  1833,  Jackson  read  to  the  cabinet  a  paper  stating  his  in 
tentions  and  assuming  entire  responsibility  for  their  execu 
tion.  Duane,  however,  refused  to  act  in  accordance  with 
Jackson's  desire,  or  to  resign,  and  was,  therefore,  removed 
September  23.  He  was  succeeded  by  Roger  B.  Taney, 
the  Attorney-General,  who  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  the 
plan,  and  at  once  carried  it  into  execution.  Government 
expenses  were  paid  from  the  deposits  already  in  the  Bank, 
but  no  more  government  money  was  deposited  there.  A 
financial  panic  followed,  which  the  supporters  of  the  Bank 
attributed  to  the  removal,  and  the  administration  to  the 
manner  in  which  the  Bank  contracted  its  business. 

When  the  new  Congress  came  together,  the  bank  question  at  Censure  of 
once  became  the  leading  topic  of  discussion.  The  House  sus 
tained  Taney 's  action  by  a  vote  of  1 18  to  103.  The  Senate,  how 
ever,  had  a  strong  antiadministration  majority,  and,  powerless 
to  take  active  measures,  adopted  resolutions  condemning  the 
removal  and  accusing  the  President  of  having  violated  the 


222 


JACKSON'S  SECOND  TERM 


The  "expung 
ing  resolu 
tion." 


End  of  the 
second 
Bank  of  the 
United  States. 


Constitution.  This  vote  of  censure,  Jackson  considered  to  be 
an  unwarranted  attack  on  the  people's  representative.  He 
replied  by  a  "Protest,"  in  which  he  defended  his  action.  He 
pointed  out  that  the  censure  was  a  judicial  act,  and  that  the 
Senate  had  no  right  judicially  to  condemn  the  President 
unless  he  were  impeached  by  the  House  of  Representatives ; 
he  asserted  the  independence  of  the  executive,  and  depre 
cated  the  growing  power  of  the  Senate,  whose  members  held 
their  offices  for  a  long  term,  were  not  elected  by  the  people, 
and  were  not  directly  responsible  to  them.  To  his  mind  the 
structure  of  the  government  was  simple:  the  legislature  made 
laws,  the  courts  decided  cases,  the  President  executed  the 
Constitution  and  the  laws ;  each  was  independent  of  the  others 
and  should  leave  the  others  entirely  alone.  Of  the  three 
branches  of  government  he  had  come  to  think  that  the  execu 
tive  stood  closest  to  the  people,  and  should,  therefore,  enjoy 
a  certain  precedence. 

The  Senate  refused  to  place  the  "Protest"  upon  its 
minutes,  while  Benton,  the  Jackson  leader  in  that  body, 
endeavored  to  have  the  "Censure"  stricken  from  its  records. 
This  purely  personal  aftermath  of  the  bank  struggle  became 
one  of  the  leading  issues  in  politics  for  the  next  two  years. 
At  length  on  January  16,  1837,  the  administration  having 
secured  a  majority  in  the  Senate,  Benton  succeeded  in  passing 
his  "  expunging  resolution  "  by  a  vote  of  24  to  1 6  —  at  a  time 
when  Jackson  was  suffering  from  the  removal  of  a  bullet  fired 
at  him  by  Benton's  brother  in  one  of  the  shooting  affrays  of 
their  youth. 

Though  its  national  charter  expired  in  1836  and  its 
connection  with  the  national  government  was  at  an  end,  the 
United  States  Bank  secured  a  local  charter  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  strove  to  maintain  its  leading  financial  position.  Its 
new  charter,  however,  cost  much  money;  its  business  methods 
grew  more  unsound;  and  finally,  in  1841,  it  failed,  and  Jack 
son's  victory  was  complete. 


"PET  BANKS 


223 


With  the  withdrawal  of  the  deposits  from  the  Bank  of  "Pet 
the  United  States,  it  was  necessary  for  the  government  to 
devise  some  other  method  of  handling  public  moneys.  It 
was  not  attempted  to  do  the  government  business  on  a  smaller 
margin  of  deposits;  in  fact  the  public  debt  was  fully  paid, 
January  i,  1835,  and  from  that  time  the  deposits  grew 
constantly  greater.  On  January  i,  1836,  they  amounted  to 
$25,000,000  ;  on  June  i,  of  the  same  year,  to  $41,500,000. 
These  deposits  were  divided  among  certain  banks  selected 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  In  making  this  division 
the  attempt  was  to  distribute  the  money  equally  throughout 
the  country  rather  than  concentrate  it  in  the  financial 
centers ;  population  rather  than  business  necessity  was  con 
sidered.  In  deciding  among  the  banks  of  any  locality,  the 
considerations  were  very  largely  political;  in  fact  in  many 
places  adherents  of  Jackson  were  encouraged  to  found  banks 
for  the  express  purpose  of  receiving  such  deposits.  The 
administration  had  it  in  mind  to  use  its  influence  as  a  check 
upon  these  banks,  but  its  attempts  in  this  direction  were 
ineffective ;  and  the  overthrow  of  the  National  Bank  meant 
really  the  turning  over  of  the  great  question  of  banking  and 
currency  to  the  states.  )  The  different  sections  of  the  country 
were  so  far  apart  in  their  ideas  on  these  subjects  that  a 
national  policy  could  not  be  other  than  unpopular. 

State  control  meant  practically  no  control  throughout  the  Speculation 
frontier  region.  The  banks  receiving  government  deposits 
looked  upon  them  as  a  permanent  loan  without  interest,  and 
increased  their  business  accordingly.  They  enlarged  their 
issues  of  currency  far  beyond  the  limits  of  safety,  and  loaned 
it  on  easy  terms. 

At  length  the  frontier  business  community  had  obtained 
what  it  had  long  desired,  easy  credit;  any  merchant  could 
secure  money  on  almost  any  security.  Men  undertook  enter 
prises  far  beyond  their  resources  or  the  demands  of  the  com 
munity.  Particularly  speculation  in  land  was  carried  to  an 


224  JACKSON'S  SECOND  TERM 

extreme.  I  Town  sites  were  purchased;  elaborate  plats  were 
prepared,  showing  streets  and  public  buildings,  where  in  fact 
the  muskrat  was  the  only  inhabitant;  swampy  creeks  were 
magnified  into  streams  which  would  furnish  water  power 
for  factories  yet  unthought  of ;  and  steamboats  were  pictured 
as  sailing  through  channels  which  a  hunter's  canoe  could 
not  have  navigated.  Seven  such  cities  were  projected  within 
ten  miles  of  Madison,  Wisconsin,  and  town  lots  sold  before 
there  was  a  single  hut  in  any  one  of  them.  The  average 
annual  sales  of  public  lands  for  the  ten  years  before  1835 
amounted  to  $2,363,004;  for  the  ten  years  after  1836,  to 
$3,534,171 ;  these  figures  would  seem  to  represent  the  normal 
amount  of  land  needed  by  the  increasing  population.  In 
1835  tne  sa^es  amounted  to  $11,990,515.75,  and  in  1836  to 
$24,877,179.86.  Such  purchases  were  almost  purely  specu 
lative;  they  discounted  the  advance  in  land  values  for  many 
years  to  come. 

Distribution  The  immediate  effect  of  these  land  sales  was  to  increase  the 
plusheSUr"  income  of  the  government  to  an  unprecedented  amount; 
in  1834  it  was  $21,800,000,  in  1836  it  was  $50,800,000.  This 
increase  of  revenue  coming  just  after  the  payment  of  the  public 
debt,  and  at  a  time  when  the  compromise  of  1833  prevented  a 
reduction  of  the  tariff,  caused  both  parties  to  unite  in  the 
passage  of  the  bill  for  the  distribution  of  the  surplus,  already 
noted.  It  was  expected  that  this  surplus  available  for 
distribution  would  amount  to  $40,000,000,  and  in  the  three 
quarters  of  a  year  during  which  the  act  was  in  force,  $28,000,- 
ooo  was  actually  given  over  to  the  states.  This  distribution 
of  the  surplus  stimulated  in  many  ways  the  era  of  specu 
lation  begun  by  the  distribution  of  deposits  and  overthrow 
of  the  Bank.  The  states  counted  upon  the  surplus  as 
permanent,  and  some,  hoping  to  increase  their  share,  founded 
state  banks,  for  which  the  money  they  received  served  as 
capital,  and  which  issued  more  paper  currency,  thereby 
increasing  the  plethora  of  money,  the  ease  of  securing  credit, 


THE  SPECIE  CIRCULAR  225 

and  the  temptation  to  speculate.  The  states  themselves  set 
the  example,  for  while  some  of  them  used  their  new  resources 
as  a  school  fund,  the  greater  number  planned  internal  im 
provements  on  such  a  scale  that  their  share  of  the  surplus 
would  hardly  pay  the  annual  interest  charge.  Ohio,  Indiana, 
and  Illinois  began  an  elaborate  system  of  canals,  and  the 
country  seemed  at  length  destined  to  be  provided  with  trans 
portation  facilities  at  public  expense. 

While  land  speculation  in  the  West  was  the  controlling  Extrava- 
f actor  in  the  situation,  the  fever  spread  everywhere  and  to  gance* 
everything.  All  kinds  of  new  undertakings  were  entered 
upon,  real  estate  rose  to  figures  which  in  some  places  it  did 
not  touch  again  for  over  sixty  years,  fortunes  were  made,  and 
extravagance  of  living  increased  with  every  year.  The 
nouveaux  riches,  with  their  European  silks,  wines,  and  carriages, 
began  to  set  the  tone  of  society,  and  the  dignified  aristocracy 
of  the  colonial  type  began  to  lose  its  control  of  the  world  of 
fashion,  as  it  had,  in  1829,  of  politics.  European  imports 
increased,  and,  paper  money  supplying  domestic  needs,  great 
quantities  of  gold  and  silver  were  shipped  out  of  the  country. 

The  country  was  rapidly  increasing  in  real  wealth,  popula-  The  Specie 
tion  was  pushing  westward  and  creating  land  values  with  Clrcular* 
unprecedented  rapidity ;  but  the  people  were  attempting  to 
realize  on  them  more  rapidly  than  they  were  created  by 
means  of  credit  currency.  The  danger  of  the  situation  was 
very  generally  recognized,  but  there  were  differences  as  to  the 
remedy.  Few  statesmen  venture  to  put  a  check  upon  pros 
perity.  Jackson,  however,  saw  a  simple  remedy  for  the 
evil,  and  he  applied  it  with  the  same  courage  he  had  pre 
viously  shown.  In  1835  and  1836  Benton  tried  to  have 
Congress  adopt  a  bullionist  policy,  and  vote  to  accept  nothing 
but  gold  and  silver  in  payment  for  public  lands.  This 
policy  he  pressed  with  such  characteristic  energy  that  he  ac 
quired  the  nickname  of  "Old  Bullion."  Congress,  however, 
refused  to  accept  the  principle,  and  finally,  on  July  n,  1836, 


226  JACKSON'S  SECOND  TERM 

Jackson  took  action  on  his  own  authority.  His  experience 
with  paper  money  had  made  him,  like  Benton,  suspicious  of 
it;  he  was  anxious  to  get  rid  of  it  altogether,  at  least  in  the 
transaction  of  government  business.  Consequently  he  is 
sued  what  is  known  as  the  "Specie  Circular,"  ordering  that 
only  gold  and  silver  be  received  for  the  public  land.  Congress, 
by  a  majority  of  41  to  5  in  the  Senate  and  143  to  59  in 
the  House,  voted  to  reverse  this  policy,  but  a  pocket  veto 
maintained  it. 

Before  the  tide  of  prosperity  had  begun  to  ebb,  the  elec 
tion  of  1836  approached,  and  Jackson  looked  once  more  for 
vindication  of  his  policy;  not  in  his  own  reelection,  but  in 
that  of  his  chosen  successor  Van  Buren.  In  every  direction 
Diplomacy,  he  had  been  victorious.  Even  in  diplomacy,  the  particular 
field  of  his  rival  John  Quincy  Adams,  he  had  won  victories  of 
moment.  Diplomatic  questions  were  not  so  vital  to  the 
national  existence  as  they  had  been  before  1815.  It  was 
only  now  and  then  that  some  episode  attracted  the  public 
attention.  The  first  of  these  was  the  question  of  the  trade 
with  the  British  West  Indies.  Under  Adams  that  trade 
had  been  brought  to  an  end  by  the  unwillingness  of  either 
the  United  States  or  England  to  make  necessary  concessions. 
Van  Buren,  in  1829,  notified  the  British  government  that  a 
new  administration  had  come  into  power,  which  would  nego 
tiate  on  a  new  basis.  Thus  to  refer  to  politics  in  a  diplomatic 
dispatch  was  unusual,  and  gave  his  opponents  in  the  Sen 
ate  an  excuse  for  rejecting  his  nomination  as  minister  to 
England  in  1831.  Yet,  improper  though  his  method  may 
have  been,  it  was  successful.  England  reopened  negoti 
ation,  a  compromise  was  agreed  upon,  and  this  valuable 
trade  was  reestablished.  The  policy  of  mutual  concession 
which  marked  the  settlement  of  this  dispute  was  characteris 
tic  of  the  commercial  policy  of  the  Jackson  administration 
throughout,  and  that  of  Van  Buren  which  succeeded.  Treaties 
were  made  with  some  of  the  South  American  powers,  on 


FOREIGN  RELATIONS  227 

terms  more  liberal  than  those  offered  by  Adams, '  In  1831  a 
reciprocity  treaty  was  made  with  France  which  benefited  Reciprocity, 
the  cotton  trade.  Moreover,  throughout  this  period  the 
greatest  international  publicist  that  America  has  produced, 
Henry  Wheaton,  was  working  for  reciprocity  of  customs  dues 
and  legal  regulations  with  the  countries  of  the  Baltic.  The 
taxes  on  emigration  levied  by  the  German  states  were 
abolished,  and  a  number  of  treaties  of  commercial  reciprocity 
were  made,  culminating  in  that  with  the  Zollverein  in  1844, 
which  was  rejected  by  the  Whigs.  Treaties  with  Siam  and 
Muscat  for  the  first  time  put  the  country  into  direct  rela 
tions  with  the  nations  of  the  East.  While  an  extensive  trade 
had  been  carried  on  with  China  and  India,  the  only  previous 
treaty  protection  had  been  that  afforded  for  a  time  by  the 
Jay  treaty  with  England. 

A  more  sensational  incident  resulted  from  the  purpose  Indemnities, 
of  the  government  to  collect,  from  various  foreign  nations, 
damages  for  injuries  sustained  by  our  merchants  during 
the  Napoleonic  wars.  In  1831  a  very  satisfactory  treaty 
was  framed  with  France,  but  difficulty  soon  arose,  as  the 
French  Assembly  was  unwilling  to  pay  the  obligations  the 
French  government  had  assumed.  Jackson  referred  to  the 
matter  in  his  regular  message  to  Congress  in  language  that 
the  French  press  regarded  as  insulting,  and  a  demand  for 
war  rang  through  France.  The  French  Assembly  finally 
voted  to  pay  the  money  if  a  proper  explanation  or  apology 
was  made  for  the  language  contained  in  the  President's 
message,  while  the  American  government  stated  that  a  presi 
dential  message  was  a  purely  domestic  document  which 
could  not  form  a  proper  subject  of  diplomatic  negotiations. 
Ministers  were  withdrawn  from  the  respective  capitals,  and 
the  situation  became  extremely  acute.  This  question  during 
1835  attracted  the  attention  of  the  country.  Jackson  in 
sisted  on  the  payment  of  the  indemnity,  and  was  supported 
by  the  House  of  Representatives  under  the  lead  of  John 


228  JACKSON'S  SECOND  TERM 

Quincy  Adams,  now  chairman  of  the  committee  on  foreign 
affairs.  In  the  Senate  Clay  brought  in  a  more  conciliatory 
report  and  prevented  any  action  hostile  to  France.  Before 
Congress  met  again  France  had  yielded,  accepting,  as  suffi 
cient  explanation  of  the  President's  language,  a  later  message 
of  Jackson,  in  which  he  stated  that  he  had  never  intended 
to  threaten  her.  The  success  of  the  United  States  in  this 
episode  was  felt  to  strengthen  its  position  abroad.  At  home 
the  credit  for  the  solution  was  claimed  alike  by  the  friends 
of  Adams,  Clay,  and  Jackson,  but  the  majority  of  the  people, 
as  in  the  case  of  nullification,  gave  it  to  Jackson.  While 
this  was  the  most  important  of  the  treaties  securing  damages, 
several  others  were  made,  and  practically  all  American  claims 
against  foreign  countries  were  liquidated. 

Texas.  The  most  important  question  of  diplomacy,  and  the  one 

which  might  be  expected  chiefly  to  interest  the  administra 
tion,  was  that  concerning  Texas.  The  treaty  of  1819,  by 
which  our  western  boundary  was  fixed  at  the  Sabine  River, » 
was  not  regarded  as  final  by  many  persons  in  the  United 
States.  No  sooner  had  Adams  become  President  than  he 
began  to  negotiate  for  the  purchase  of  the  territory  beyond, 
if  possible  as  far  as  the  Rio  Grande.  He  pointed  out  to 
the  Mexican  government  that  this  region,  in  which  there 
were  only  a  few  thousand  Mexicans,  was  rapidly  being 
occupied  by  settlers  from  the  United  States,  alien  to  the 
Mexicans  in  language  and  customs  and  apt  to  prove  a  dis 
turbing  factor.  The  Mexicans  refused  to  sell,  and  adopted 
active  but  ineffectual  measures  to  prevent  the  Americaniza 
tion  of  Texas.  Under  Jackson  the  negotiation  was  reopened 
and  might  have  succeeded  had  he  not  absolutely  refused  to 
bribe  the  Mexican  authorities.  In  the  meantime  the  proph 
ecy  of  Adams  came  true  more  quickly  perhaps  than  he 
had  expected.  Americans,  adventurous  frontiersmen  and 
cotton  planters  with  their  slaves,  were  pouring  into  this 
district  where  rich  land  could  be  bought  for  twelve  and  a 


TEXAS  229 

half  cents  per  acre,  while  in  the  United  States  the  minimum 
price  was  $1.25.  Although  they  took  the  oath  of  fidelity 
to  the  Mexican  government,  the  majority  were  unwilling  to 
allow  its  interference,  and  at  the  first  indication  that  its  author 
ity  would  be  exercised,  resisted.  In  1832  there  was  a  revolt, 
and  in  1835  a  revolution  which  established  the  Republic 
of  Texas  and  a  government  entirely  American.  The  next 
year  Santa  Anna,  the  Mexican  president,  swept  through 
the  country  with  fire  and  sword,  driving  before  him  the 
Americans  under  General  Sam  Houston,  a  friend  of  Jackson. 
Throughout  the  United  States  the  war  fever  took  hold  of  Question  of 
the  people,  and  thousands  made  their  way  to  Texas,  attracted  neutra  ty* 
by  sympathy  and  by  the  unparalleled  liberality  of  the  land 
offers  made  by  the  new  republic  to  those  who  would  come  to 
its  assistance.  The  aid  thus  afforded  Texas  by  American 
citizens  gave  Mexico  a  just  ground  for  complaint,  but  the 
administration  was  not  seriously  at  fault,  as  the  neutrality 
laws  were  somewhat  ambiguous  and  the  overwhelming 
pro-Texan  sentiment  would  have  rendered  a  strict  interpre 
tation  of  neutrality  impossible  unless  supported  by  force. 

The  government  was  more  directly  involved  by  its 
order  to  General  Gaines,  in  case  of  certain  possible  Indian 
hostilities,  to  cross  the  Sabine  and  occupy  Nacogdoches,  a 
position  of  great  strategic  importance  in  Mexican  territory. 
It  was  believed  by  many  that  this  movement  was  really 
intended  to  assist  the  Texans,  and  the  Mexican  minister  at 
Washington  withdrew  in  consequence  of  it.  In  fact,  how 
ever,  Gaines  did  not  cross  the  Sabine,  although  encamped 
near  its  banks,  until  after  Houston,  by  his  victory  over 
Santa  Anna  at  San  Jacinto  on  April  21,  1836,  had  praeti- 
cally  assured  Texan  independence  without  his  assistance. 

The  Texan  question  now  began   to  assume  a  certain  Question  of 
political  importance  in  the  United  States.     Jackson's  oppo 
nents  accused  the  administration  of  being  responsible  for  the 
revolution,  and  of  intending  to  annex  Texas  to  the  United 


230  JACKSON'S   SECOND  TERM 

States.  The  first  point  to  be  decided  was  whether  the  new 
republic  should  be  recognized.  Jackson  left  this  to  the  dis 
cretion  of  Congress,  but  advised  postponement.  The  Senate 
voted  recognition,  and  money  was  appropriated  for  the 
establishment  of  diplomatic  relations.  The  day  before  he 
retired,  March  3,  1837,  Jackson  nominated  a  charge  d'affaires 
to  Texas.  Recognition  was  thus  granted,  but  on  annexation 
the  administration  would  not  commit  itself.  Its  policy,  how 
ever,  was  said  to  be  foreshadowed  by  a  message  which 
Jackson  sent  to  Congress  in  February,  1837.  In  this  he 
called  attention  to  the  extensive  claims  of  American  citizens 
against  Mexico  and  asked  authority  to  use  the  navy  to 
assist  in  collecting  them.  It  was  suspected  that  it  was  his 
intention  to  press  these  claims  and  thereby  force  Mexico  to 
recognize  the  independence  of  Texas  or  to  sell  it  to  the  United 
States.  In  either  case  annexation  would  result.  Whether 
this  motive  predominated  or  whether  the  message  marked 
merely  a  continuation  of  the  policy  to  collect  American  claims 
against  all  nations,  the  evidence  at  present  available  will 
not  determine,  for  the  carrying  out  of  the  policy  was  left 
over  to  the  Van  Buren  administration. 

Democratic  Preparations  for    the  presidential    election    had    begun 

of°i836*101  unusually  early.  The  Democratic  convention  was  held  in 
May,  1836,  at  Baltimore,  the  favorite  meeting  place  for  con 
ventions  at  this  period.  That  city  could  be  most  easily 
reached  from  north,  south,  and  west,  and  the  political  com 
plexion  of  Maryland  was  extremely  doubtful,  so  that  it  was 
advisable  to  arouse  there  the  enthusiasm  excited  by  these 
great  national  gatherings.  Van  Buren  was  nominated 
for  the  presidency  rather  as  the  choice  of  Jackson  than  of  the 
party;  and  Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson,  the  amiable  re 
puted  slayer  of  Tecumseh,  was  selected  for  the  vice  presidency. 
No  platform  was  adopted,  but  the  party  principles  were  well 
enough  understood.  In  fact  the  campaign  that  followed 
was  more  clearly  a  contest  of  issues  than  any  since  1800. 


ELECTION  OF   1836  231 

In  1828  and  1832  Jackson  and  Democracy  had  overshadowed 
any  particular  issue.  In  1836,  with  a  candidate  lacking  in 
magnetism  and  distinctly  unpopular  in  many  parts  of  the 
country,  the  attitude  of  the  party  toward  particular  public 
questions  was  of  more  moment,  and  thanks  to  Jackson's  de 
cisive  action  that  policy  was  explicit  on  nearly  every  point. 
The  Democratic  party  stood  for  leaving  all  questions  possible  The  Demo- 
to  the  states  and  therefore  against  internal  improvements  form? 
and  a  national  bank ;  it  stood  nevertheless  for  the  preserva 
tion  of  the  Union  at  any  cost  and  for  the  active  use  of  the 
national  power  to  extend  commercial  relations  and  to  pro 
tect  American  property;  the  tariff  was  not  an  issue.  On 
finance  the  administration  stood  for  hard  money,  though  the 
bulk  of  the  party  were  as  yet  in  favor  of  paper. 

The  opposition  did  not  call  a  national  convention,  partly 
because  that  system  of  party  government  was  still  opposed 
by  many  of  Jackson's  opponents,  and  partly  because  the 
elements  objecting  to  Van  Buren  were  not  ready  to  cooperate 
among  themselves.  The  great  bulk  of  the  opposition  con 
sisted  of  men  who  in  1828  and  1832  had  supported  Adams 
and  Clay,  respectively,  and  who  were  generally  known  as 
National  Republicans.  They  now  had  the  advantage  of 
personality  in  appealing  to  the  frontier,  as  their  candidate 
was  William  Henry  Harrison,  victor  at  Tippecanoe  and  at  Harrison  and 
the  Thames  and  author  of  the  land  law  of  1800.  In  1828  Webster- 
Jackson  had  carried  all  the  ten  frontier  states,  receiving 
240,000  to  130,000  popular  votes.  In  1832  the  states  divided 
nine  to  one  and  the  vote  stood  225,000  to  145,000.  In  1836 
there  were  twelve  frontier  states,  Arkansas  having  been  ad 
mitted  in  1836  and  Michigan  being  in  the  process  of  admis 
sion.  Five  of  these  voted  for  the  opposition,  and  Van  Buren 
received  only  285,000  votes  to  300,000.  In  pleasing  the  fron 
tier  the  National  Republicans  somewhat  displeased  the  East, 
and  in  Massachusetts  Daniel  Webster  ran  instead  of  Harrison  j 

and  received  the  vote  of  that  state.    In  Pennsylvania  and 


232  JACKSON'S   SECOND  TERM 

some  other  states  the  Antimasons  joined  with  the  National 
Republicans,  giving  them  a  strength  in  the  rural  districts 
they  had  never  had  before.  All  together  Harrison  and  Webster 
received  in  the  northern  states  a  popular  vote  decidedly 
larger  than  that  cast  in  1832  for  Clay  and  Wirt,  gaining,  as 
compared  with  them,  New  Jersey,  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  part  of 
Maryland,  and  losing  only  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut. 
Southern  The  opposition  to  Van  Buren  was  not  confined  to  the 

supporters  of  Harrison  and  Webster.  In  nine  of  the  eleven 
states  south  of  the  Potomac,  the  opposition  candidate 
was  Judge  White  of  Tennessee.  In  these  states,  in  1832, 
Clay  had  received  20,000  votes ;  Judge  White  received 
145,000,  carrying  Georgia  and  Tennessee.  This  represented  a 
new  falling  away  from  the  Democratic  party.  This  element 
consisted  of  men  who,  first  one  and  then  another,  had 
ceased,  between  1832  and  1836,  to  support  Jackson.  Some 
had  left  because  they  considered  that  his  proclamation  on 
nullification  contained  sentiments  inimical  to  the  rights 
of  the  states.  Among  these  was  John  Tyler  and  a  large 
faction  of  the  pure  Jeffersonian  democracy.  Others  of  the 
same  element  abandoned  Jackson  after  the  removal  of  the 
deposits  and  other  acts  of  executive  power,  claiming  that 
the  President  was  preparing  the  way  for  a  despotism  by  the 
executive.  Many  of  the  wealthier  planters  were  alarmed  at 
the  financial  aspects  of  the  attack  on  the  Bank,  and  were 
equally  opposed  to  the  bullionist  policy  of  Benton.  They 
desired  a  credit  currency  on  a  sound  basis.  Many,  while 
uneasy  at  these  things,  had  supported  Jackson,  confident  in 
his  personal  honesty  of  purpose,  but  they  left  the  party  now 
that  Van  Buren  took  his  place.  In  general  these  southern  ad 
herents  of  Judge  White  belonged  to  the  more  conservative  and 
wealthier  classes ;  they  regarded  themselves  as  the  custodians 
of  the  pure  traditions  of  the  past,  and  they  breathed  with 
relief  when  they  shook  themselves  free  from  the  party  contami 
nated  by  the  spoils  system  and  political  organization. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  233 

Still  a  third  element  of  opposition  were  the  nulliners  of   South 
South  Carolina,  who  rejected  Van  Buren  and  would  not  Carolma- 
accept  Judge  White,  and  so  again  threw  away  the  vote  of 
the  state,  this  time  on  Willie  P.  Mangum  of  North  Carolina. 

That  Van  Buren  was  successful,  although  by  the  narrow  Results, 
margin  of  25,000  in  the  popular  vote  and  46  in  the  electoral 
college,1  was  a  strong  testimonial  to  the  popularity  of  Demo 
cratic  doctrines,  and  a  final  gratification  to  Jackson,  who  could 
now  retire  with  the  consciousness  of  having  completely 
triumphed  over  his  enemies.  Nor  had  his  successes  been 
due  to  a  temporizing  or  passive  policy.  He  had  boldly 
grappled  with  the  real  problems  before  the  country;  he  had 
applied  to  each  such  remedy  as  to  his  simple  practical 
mind  seemed  likely  to  be  efficacious,  and  had  worked  for  its 
application,  often  against  the  advice  of  his  closest  friends  and 
in  the  face  of  the  overwhelming  opposition  of  the  people's 
representatives  in  Congress ;  and  in  every  case,  even  to  his 
personal  vindication  by  the  expunging  resolution,  his  judg 
ment  had  finally  been  indorsed  by  the  people.  He  retired 
triumphant,  leaving  in  his  place  a  man  of  his  own  choice, 
who  gave,  as  his  highest  qualification  for  the  office,  the  fact 
that  he  was  the  representative  of  Jackson's  policies,  and 
whose  retention  of  Jackson's  cabinet  was  an  earnest  of  his 
intentions. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

The  references  given  at  the  close  of  the  last  three  chapters  con 
tinue  to  be  of  use.  In  addition,  the  following  historical  accounts 
are  of  value:  Foster,  J.  W.,  A  Century  of  American  Diplomacy, 
272-280.  Roosevelt,  T.,  Be-nton,  ch.  VII.  Shepard,  E.  M.,  Van 
Buren,  ch.  VII. 

!One  state,  Virginia,  which  voted  for  Van  Buren  for  President,  refused  to 
vote  for  Johnson  for  Vice  President.  As  a  result,  no  one  received  a  majority  of 
the  electoral  votes  for  Vice  President,  and  Johnson  was  elected  to  this  office  by 
the  Senate. 


CHAPTER  XV 


The  crisis  of 
1837- 


Proposed 
remedies. 


THE   VAN   BUREN   ADMINISTRATION 

SCARCELY  had  Jackson  withdrawn  to  the  "  Hermitage," 
his  country  home  in  Tennessee,  and  left  the  government  in 
the  hands  of  his  lieutenants,  when  prosperity,  which  had  been 
at  high-water  mark  throughout  his  administration,  ebbed 
like  the  tide  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  From  one  end  of  the 
country  to  the  other  disaster  spread :  prices  dropped,  demand 
for  commodities  declined,  banks  closed  their  doors,  and 
mills  shut  down.  The  crisis  of  1819  had  not  been  so  acute, 
nor  was  that  of  1873  so  extensive.  A  great  amount  of  specie 
had,  before  the  year  1837,  been  driven  from  the  country  by  the 
abundance  of  paper  money.  With  the  first  halt  in  prosperity 
the  banks  were  forced  to  suspend  specie  payment,  and  there 
upon  the  value  of  their  paper  money  fell.  The  majority  of 
the  business  men  of  the  country  were  engaged  in  under 
takings  far  beyond  their  resources ;  with  the  disturbance  of 
credit  they  went  into  bankruptcy,  or  were  hopelessly  in 
volved  where  bankruptcy  was  not  an  authorized  procedure. 
Everywhere  was  financial  ruin,  and  this  was  often  accompanied 
by  actual  personal  distress,  particularly  in  the  manufactur 
ing  regions.  Petitions  poured  in,  asking  the  administration 
to  come  to  the  relief  of  the  country ;  riots  seemed  to  threaten 
the  maintenance  of  order,  and  Van  Bur  en  so  far  yielded  to 
the  popular  unrest  as  to  call  an  extra  session  of  Congress  for 
September. 

When  Congress  met,  the  leaders  of  the  opposition  naturally 
united  in  laying  the  blame  for  the  crisis  upon  the  shoulders 
of  the  Democratic  party.  Clay  believed  that  the  failure  to 

234 


THE  ADMINISTRATION  POLICY 


235 


recharter  the  United  States  Bank,  the  disturbance  caused  by 
the  removal  of  the  deposits,  and  the  Specie  Circular  had  been 
responsible ;  that  the  remedy  should  be  the  immediate  re- 
establishment  of  the  Bank.  Van  Buren  found  the  cause  of 
the  crisis,  not  in  the  policy  of  the  national  government,  but 
in  that  of  the  states.  He  pointed  out  that  banking  capital 
had  been  allowed  to  increase  between  1834  and  1836  from 
$200,000,000  to  $251,000,000,  bank  notes  in  circulation  from 
$95,000,000  to  $140,000,000,  and  loans  and  discounts  from 
$324,000,000  to  $457,000,000,  and  that  states,  banks,  and 
merchants  were  heavily  indebted  to  Europe ;  that  this  un 
usual  and  unsound  distention  of  credit  had  but  brought  its 
natural  result.  Calhoun  so  strongly  espoused  this  view  that 
he  broke  with  the  opposition,  with  whom  he  had  been  co 
operating  since  the  compromise  of  1833,  and  gave  fairly  con 
sistent  support  to  the  administration.  He  looked  upon  the 
Specie  Circular  as  a  wise  measure,  because  it  pricked  the  bubble 
of  inflation  and  brought  land  speculation  down  to  the  basis 
of  real  values.  There  is  little  doubt  now  that  the  crisis  of 
1837  was  a  natural  economic  reaction  from  the  fever  of  specu 
lation  that  preceded.  The  Specie  Circular  may  have  hastened 
the  disaster,  by  exhibiting  the  deficiency  of  real  capital, 
but  it  could  not  have  been  long  delayed,  as  a  similar  crisis 
was  taking  place  in  Europe;  if  the  American  government 
had  not  made  its  call  for  gold  and  thereby  revealed  the  bar 
renness  of  the  banks,  the  European  bankers  would  soon 
have  done  so.  If  a  well-established  national  bank  had  been 
in  existence,  to  exercise  a  wise  regulative  influence,  it  might 
have  rendered  the  crisis  less  severe,  but  it  is  difficult  to  see 
how  the  establishment  of  a  bank  in  1837  could  have  much 
relieved  the  situation. 

The  administration  policy  was  dictated  by  a  portion  of  Administra- 
the  party,  and  was  based  upon  Van  Buren 's  analysis  of  the 
causes  of  the  crisis.     The  carnival  of  paper  money  had  added 
many  adherents  to  the  bullionist  element,  represented  by 


236  THE  VAN  BUREN  ADMINISTRATION 

Benton  and  Jackson.  This  faction  was  particularly  strength 
ened  by  a  local  movement  in  New  York.  Here  a  portion  of 
the  party  had  revolted  against  the  dominant  Albany  Re 
gency,  claiming  that  this  clique  was  becoming  as  much  of  an 
aristocracy  as  that  of  the  Federalists  before  them;  that  it 
was  time  for  a  new  distribution  of  the  spoils.  This  revolt 
ing  faction,  from  an  episode  of  their  campaign,  acquired  the 
name  of  "Loco-Focos."  Just  before  the  election  of  1836 
they  were  reunited  with  the  party.  Their  most  important 
political  belief  was  the  fallibility  of  all  credit  currency  and  the 
unique  efficacy  of  hard  money — gold  and  silver.  In  their 
fusion  with  the  party  they  carried  this  idea  with  them,  and 
the  President  became  the  advocate  of  this  their  leading  prin 
ciple.  It  was  not,  therefore,  without  justice  that  the  name 
Loco-Focos  came  to  be  applied  to  the  whole  Democratic 
party,  although  it  was  so  used  by  their  opponents  chiefly 
to  recall  certain  socialistic  ideas  of  the  faction,  which  tended 
to  discredit  it  in  the  eyes  of  the  conservative. 

Subtreasury  with  this  backing,  Van  Buren  boldly  supported  the 
Specie  Circular,  and  in  fact  extended  it  to  receipts  for  the 
postal  service.  He  recommended  that  Congress  adopt,  as 
a  permanent  policy,  the  requirement  that  all  receipts  of  the 
government  be  in  gold  and  silver.  The  newer  portion  of  his 
scheme  related  to  the  care  and  disbursement  of  this  money 
when  once  collected.  He  pointed  out  that  two  methods 
had  been  employed  by  the  government  in  the  past:  one, 
the  use  of  a  national  bank  from  1791  to  1811  and  from  1816 
to  1836;  the  other,  the  use  of  state  banks.  Both  of  these 
plans,  he  thought,  had  proved  unsatisfactory.  He  recom 
mended,  therefore,  that  the  government  take  care  of  its  own 
money  by  the  establishment  of  branches  of  the  treasury  in 
cities  where  the  major  portion  of  its  business  was  conducted. 
The  receiving  officers  would  be  responsible  until  they  placed 
it  in  these  subtreasnries,  and  payments  would  be  made  out 
of  the  money  thus  collected  and  stored.  By  the  administra- 


THE  STATES  AND   BANKING  337 

tion  this  plan  was  called  the  "Independent  Treasury";  by  the 
opposition  the  "Divorce  Bill,"  because  its  object  was  to 
divorce  public  and  private  business.  John  Quincy  Adams 
wrote :  "  A  Divorce  of  Bank  and  State  !  Why,  a  divorce  of 
Trade  and  Shipping  would  be  as  wise  to  carry  on  the  business 
of  a  merchant.  A  Divorce  of  Army  and  Fire- Arms,  in  the  face 
of  an  invading  enemy,  a  divorce  of  Law  and  a  Bench  of 
Judges  to  carry  into  execution  the  Statutes  of  the  Land, 
would  be  as  reasonable  ! " 

Every  step  in  the  policy  of  the  administration  was  con-  Legislation, 
tested  in  debates  which  seemed  to  bring  to  a  head  the  accumu 
lated  bitterness  of  the  decade.  Even  the  obviously  prudent 
proposal  that  the  fourth  installment  of  the  surplus  which  had 
not  yet  been  paid  to  the  states  be  withheld,  now  that  the 
government  was  confronted  with  an  actual  deficit,  was  op 
posed  by  Clay  and  a  majority  of  his  supporters.  Never 
theless,  it  was  passed.  The  Independent  Treasury  Bill  was 
defeated  by  a  combination  of  the  regular  opposition  and  a 
number  of  Democrats  calling  themselves  "Conservatives." 
The  succeeding  Congress  contained  a  still  narrower  Demo 
cratic  majority,  but  it  was  better  united,  and  with  the  power 
ful  assistance  of  Calhoun  the  Subtreasury  Bill  was  at  length 
passed  in  1840,  with  the  addition  that  after  June  30,  1843, 
nothing  but  gold  and  silver  should  be  received  or  paid  out 
by  the  United  States.  National  business  was  separated  from 
private  business,  and  national  politics  from  all  questions  of 
the  currency,  as  completely  as  it  was  within  the  power  of 
the  government  to  do  it. 

This  complete  withdrawal   of   the  national  government  The  states 
left  the  states  even  more  independent  in  their  regulation  of  and  bankms- 
banking  than  they  were  while  the  state  banks  held  the  national 
deposits,  and  were,  therefore,  held  to  some  form  of  national 
supervision.     To  this  entire  freedom  from  national  control 
was  added  the  sanction  of  the  Supreme  Court.     In  1835 
Judge  Marshall  had  died.     He  was  succeeded  by  Roger  B. 


THE  VAN  BUREN  ADMINISTRATION 


Panic  of 
1841. 


Repudiation 
of  state 
debts. 


Taney,  who  was  to  hold  the  chief  justiceship  until  1864.  The 
Court  was  now  in  sympathy  with  the  dominant  Democratic 
attitude,  as  five  of  the  seven  judges  were  of  Jackson's  appoint 
ment.  In  1837,  in  the  case  of  Briscoe  v.  The  Bank  of 
Kentucky,  the  court  confirmed  the  power  of  the  state  to  es 
tablish  banks  endowed  with  the  power  to  issue  paper  cur 
rency,  though  the  Constitution  forbade  the  states  themselves 
to  "emit  bills  of  credit."  Though  they  could  not  declare 
such  currency  legal  tender,  practically  a  period  of  complete 
state  independence  in  financial  matters  followed,  lasting 
until  the  Civil  War. 

This  freedom  the  states  in  the  different  sections  pro 
ceeded  to  use  in  accordance  with  their  several  views.  In 
some  of  those  of  the  frontier  it  was  felt  that  the  remedy  for 
their  financial  distress  lay  in  more  banks  and  more  currency. 
Mississippi  chartered  in  1838  a  new  $15,000,000  bank.  Its 
capital  was  subscribed  in  real  estate  mortgages,  and  as  it 
was  not  easy  to  raise  money  on  these  directly,  the  state  gave 
its  security  and  agreed  to  raise  the  necessary  specie.  This 
general  scheme,  though  with  varying  details,  was  very  gener 
ally  employed  in  the  newer  states,  and  it  recalls  the  land-bank 
projects  of  the  seventeenth  century  in  England,  and  of  the 
eighteenth  in  Massachusetts;  it  marked  a  primitive  stage  of 
financial  development.  The  hard  times  proved  to  be  more 
lasting  than  these  frontier  financiers  anticipated.  Although 
many  banks  which  had  not  definitely  failed  resumed  specie 
payments  in  1838,  the  next  year  saw  them  suspend  again,  and 
many  of  them  gave  up  the  struggle  between  February,  1841, 
and  April,  1842,  when  eighty-one  banks,  with  $98,500,000 
capital,  became  insolvent.  Exhausted  and  discouraged  by 
five  years  of  suffering,  Mississippi  in  1842  repudiated  the 
debt  incurred  in  behalf  of  the  bank  of  1838.  Easy  is  the  way 
that  leadeth  to  destruction,  and  in  1848  the  state's  obli 
gations  in  behalf  of  the  older  Planters  Bank  were  also  denied. 
In  1840  the  territory  of  Florida  began  its  descent  of  the  same 


THE  STATES  AND   BANKING  239" 

road,  and  in  1842  Michigan  repudiated,  in  part,  certain  bonds 
issued  in  behalf  of  internal  improvements.  In  each  of  these 
cases  the  state  set  forth  certain  technicalities  to  justify  its 
action ;  but,  protected  by  their  sovereign  character  as  states 
(for  Florida  became  a  state  in  1845)  and  by  the  Eleventh 
Amendment  of  the  Constitution,  they  all  steadily  refused  to 
allow  a  judicial  review  of  their  action. 

While  most  states  manfully  stood  by  their  obligations,  Loss  of  credit 
though  it  meant  deferred  projects  of  public  works  and  heavy  m  Europe- 
taxes,  and  though  strong  parties  in  the  repudiating  states 
struggled  for  many  years  to  secure  a  reversal  of  their  deci 
sion,  American  finance  in  general  was  discredited  in  Europe, 
and  for  many  years  the  stream  of  European  capital  seeking 
investment  in  America,  which  had  been  an  important  factor 
in  the  prosperity  of  the  thirties,  was  diminished.  George 
Ticknor,  a  Federalist,  a  conservative,  and  a  capitalist,  wrote 
in  1843:  "What  Prince  Metternich  once  said  to  me,  in  re 
proach  of  our  democratic  institutions,  is  entirely  true:  we 
must  first  suffer  from  an  evil  before  we  can  apply  the  remedy ; 
we  have  no  preventive  legislation  on  such  subjects,"  but  he 
went  on  to  point  out  that  a  remedy  thus  applied  is  all  the 
more  apt  to  be  effective.  After  the  hard  lesson  of  the  period  Banking 
between  1837  and  1842,  the  excesses  of  frontier  banking  be 
came  more  and  more  restricted,  and  while  opinions  still 
varied  from  opposition  to  all  banks  to  a  belief  that  any  kind 
of  bank  could  solve  all  economic  difficulties,  public  senti 
ment  grew  continually  more  sound.  Between  1842  and  1860 
the  increase  in  banking  capital  and  currency  issues  was  more 
moderate,  and  the  amount  of  actual  business  done  grew  to 
have  a  safer  proportion  to  the  two.  The  panic  of  1841, 
moreover,  had  a  marked  political  effect.  Before  this 
time  the  states  had  been  able  to  borrow  at  better  terms  than 
individuals  and  companies.  There  was,  therefore,  a  constant 
effort  to  secure  state  credit  for  all  kinds  of  enterprises.  With 
this  blow  to  state  credit,  the  tendency  to  link  public  credit 


240  THE  VAN  BUREN  ADMINISTRATION 

and  private  initiative  was  checked.  The  era  of  the  private 
corporation  was  at  hand.  That  this  change  took  place  just 
when  railroad  construction  was  beginning,  was  of  profound 
significance  in  determining  the  character  of  our  economic 
institutions. 

Free  banking         While  the  frontier  was  learning  its  lesson,  the  older  states 
reserves.  devising  permanent  safeguards  against  a  recurrence 


of  banking  evils.  Massachusetts  for  a  long  time  had  had  a 
sound  system  of  banking,  but  it  was  in  New  York,  which  was 
rapidly  becoming  the  leading  state  financially,  that  success 
ful  legislation  was  first  evolved.  In  1829  a  safety  fund  had 
been  established  by  law.  Every  bank  chartered  was  re 
quired  to  pay  into  the  state  treasury  a  certain  percentage 
of  its  capital,  which  was  to  be  used  to  pay  the  liabilities  of 
any  that  might  fail.  This  fund  proved  too  small  and  did 
not  prevent  disasters  in  1837.  In  1839  a  better  system  was 
adopted.  Every  bank  was  required  to  deposit  securities 
with  the  state,  equal  in  value  to  the  bank  notes  that  it  issued. 
This  furnished  a  bank-note  currency  which  was  safe  against 
all  ordinary  business  disasters.  Another  equally  important 
part  of  the  plan  was  the  provision  that  bank  charters  be  not 
granted  as  heretofore  specially  by  the  legislature,  but  that 
any  group  of  persons,  producing  the  requisite  amount  of 
capital,  and  willing  to  accede  to  the  other  requirements  of 
the  state  law,  could  demand  a  charter.  This  "free  banking" 
system  tended  to  take  banking  out  of  politics  and  place  it  on 
a  purely  business  basis.  Banking  ceased  to  be  a  monopoly, 
and  the  law  of  supply  and  demand  would  in  the  end  regulate 
the  amount  of  capital  invested  and  the  amount  of  currency 
issued.  Time  proved  the  efficacy  of  these  provisions,  but 
only  eleven  states  copied  them  before  the  Civil  War. 
The  civil  It  was  a  discouraging  task  to  administer  the  government 

during  the  lean  years  from  1837  to  1841.  Receipts  from  land 
sales  dropped  like  magic  ;  the  customs  revenues  not  only  fell, 
but  were  vacillating.  In  the  first  year  of  the  administration 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 


241 


they  amounted  to  only  $11,000,000;  the  next  year,  with 
the  temporary  revival  of  business,  they  almost  doubled,  only 
to  fall  again  the  year  after.  In  order  to  meet  the  expenses 
of  government  it  was  necessary  to  run  in  debt  to  the  amount 
of  $34,000,000,  for  which  treasury  notes  were  issued. 
Every  year  saw  a  deficit.  Still  more  discouraging  was  the 
utter  demoralization  of  the  civil  service.  Nearly  all  the 
government  land  officers  had  used  public  funds  in  their  pos 
session  for  the  purposes  of  speculation.  When  the  panic 
came,  the  value  of  their  holdings  fell,  and  they  found  them 
selves  unable  to  pay.  It  was  estimated  in  1837  that  sixty- 
four  out  of  sixty-seven  land  officers  were  defaulters.  Few 
of  these  men  were  intentional  rogues;  they  fully  expected 
to  pay  back  the  money  that  they  used,  and  the  financial  sense 
of  their  frontier  communities  did  not  condemn  their  action, 
but  pitied  their  misfortunes.  Treasury  agents  stated  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  find  a  different  class  of  men  to  appoint 
to  office,  and  in  many  cases  advised  their  retention.  Prob 
ably  this  lenient  policy  reduced  the  government  losses  to 
a  minimum,  but  fully  $750,000  was  never  recovered,  and  the 
opposition  naturally  attacked  a  policy  which  seemed  to  pal 
liate  the  offense  of  using  public  funds  in  private  speculation. 

Still  more  serious  was  the  condition  of  the  customs  serv-  Corruption. 
ice.  The  collectorship  of  the  customs  in  New  York  city 
was  one  of  the  most  important  political  positions  in  the  coun 
try,  for  the  number  of  subordinates  and  the  assessments  that 
they  paid  made  the  collector  almost  dictator  in  the  city 
caucuses.  This  position  had  been  held  under  Jackson  by 
Samuel  Swartwout,  who  had  been  appointed  almost  purely 
because  of  personal  friendship  and  in  opposition  to  the  wishes 
of  Van  Buren.  The  latter  naturally  failed  to  reappoint 
him,  and  upon  his  leaving  office,  an  examination  of  his 
accounts  showed  a  defalcation  of  about  $1,250,000.  This 
would  not  have  seriously  reflected  on  Van  Buren's  admin 
istration,  but  he  appointed  as  Swartwout's  successor,  Jesse 


242  THE   VAN  BUREN  ADMINISTRATION 

Hoyt,  whose  conduct  of  the  office  was  also  marked  by 
amazing  irregularities.  Here  in  New  York  the  losses  were 
more  clearly  attributable,  than  in  the  land  office,  to  the 
careless  supervision  of  the  government  and  to  the  demoral 
ization  introduced  by  the  spoils  system.  The  main  interest 
was  centered  on  politics,  and  maladministration  followed  as 
a  natural  result.  These  New  York  defalcations  were  clearly 
not  the  result  of  misguided  ignorance ;  they  were  thefts  pure 
and  simple. 

The  In  still  other  ways  Van  Buren  reaped  the  chaff  of  policies 

Seminoles.       from  which  jackson  had  threshed  the  wheat.     The  Indian 

removals  were  now  complete  excepting  the  Seminoles  of 
Florida.  These  Indians,  taking  refuge  in  the  swamps  of  the 
Everglades,  resisted  all  the  attempts  of  the  government  to 
execute  the  treaty  for  the  sale  of  their  lands  which  they  now 
repented  of  having  made.  They  harassed  the  settlers  with 
raids  and  outrages,  until  the  latter  persuaded  General  Jesup 
to  seize  the  Indian  leader  Osceola  treacherously,  by  inviting 
him  to  a  conference  under  a  flag  of  truce.  This  act  failed  to 
close  the  war,  which  dragged  on  until  1842,  involved  the  ex 
penditure  of  $40,000,000,  and  exposed  the  administration  to 
bitter  attack,  particularly  in  the  North.  It  was  alleged  that 
the  Seminole  land  was  not  needed  for  settlement,  and  that  the 
real  object  of  the  war  was  the  recovery  of  negro  slaves  who 
had  taken  refuge  with  the  Indians. 

Van  Buren  }  In  diplomacy,  also,  Van  Buren  was  unlucky.  Upon 
Jas>  him  fell  the  responsibility  of  determining  the  policy  with 
reference  to  the  new  republic  of  Texas,  whose  recognition  as 
an  independent  nation  was  Jackson's  last  official  act.  The 
first  Texas  official  representatives  brought  a  request  for  an 
nexation,  which  was  also  desired  by  a  great  number  of  people 
in  the  United  States.  By  this  time,  however,  the  question 
had  become  so  much  involved  with  that  of  slavery  that  a 
discussion  of  the  question  seemed  likely  to  plunge  the  country 
into  an  agitation  as  distracting  as  that  over  the  admission  of 


VAN  BUREN'S  DIPLOMACY  243 

Missouri.  Van  Buren  prevented  such  a  crisis  by  refusing  to 
treat  for  annexation,  thereby  angering  a  powerful  element  of 
his  southern  supporters.  His  efforts  to  show  his  party  as 
sociates  in  the  South  that  he  would,  on  the  other  hand,  allow 
no  tampering  with  slavery,  proved  more  irritating  to  the 
antislavery  element  in  the  North  than  reassuring  to  the 
slavery  advocates  of  the  South,  and  hence  he  was  distrusted 
by  both  sections. 

Even  more  attention  was  attracted  by  the  situation  on  The 
the  northern  frontier.  During  1837  and  1838  there  were  a 
few  ill-concerted  attempts  at  revolution  in  Canada.  There 
was  widespread  sympathy  for  this  movement  all  along  the 
northern  frontier,  from  Wisconsin  to  Maine.  Thousands 
of  Americans  joined  "Hunters'  Lodges,"  for  the  purpose  of 
assisting  the  insurgents,  with  the  immediate  motives  of  ad 
venture  and  of  securing  the  land  grants  freely  offered  by  the 
insurgent  leaders,  and  with  some  distant  thought  of  annexa 
tion.  Van  Buren  firmly  maintained  the  neutrality  of  the 
United  States.  General  Scott  was  sent  to  the  border,  and 
a  new  neutrality  act  was  passed  in  1838.  The  failure  of  the 
scheme  was  laid  upon  the  President,  and  thousands  of  votes, 
especially  of  the  Irish  along  the  northern  frontier,  were 
alienated  from  the  Democrats.  William  Lyon  Mackenzie, 
one  of  the  Canadian  leaders,  a  few  years  later  attacked  Van 
Buren  and  his  political  associates  in  a  series  of  books  which 
successfully  blackened  their  reputations,  not  only  among 
politicians,  but  also  among  historians,  for  many  years  to 
come. 

Seldom  have  so  many  causes  of  unpopularity  descended  Van  Buren's 
upon  the  head  of  a  President  of  the  United  States.  Whatever 
may  be  the  judgment  of  financial  experts  upon  the  system  of 
divorce  between  the  government  and  business,  it  was  at  any 
rate  open  to  popular  attack  as  unfeeling.  Van  Buren  was 
likened  to  a  ship's  captain  who,  in  case  of  shipwreck,  should 
put  himself,  the  crew,  and  the  ship's  papers  safely  in  the 


244 


THE  VAN  BUREN  ADMINISTRATION 


His  renomi- 
nation. 


The  Whig 

party. 


best  boat,  and  leave  the  passengers  to  shift  for  themselves. 
The  government  offered  no  relief  to  a  stricken  community. 
The  entire  responsibility  for  the  breakdown  of  the  civil  serv 
ice  was  thrown  upon  the  spoils  system,  and  Van  Buren  was 
held  to  be  its  author.  His  diplomacy,  though  safe  and  sane, 
failed  to  satisfy  the  ambitions  of  either  North  or  South,  and 
withal  his  gentle,  affable  demeanor  failed  to  inspire  love  or 
respect  among  the  masses. 

In  spite  of  these  hampering  circumstances,  there  was  no 
opposition  to  Van  Buren 's  renomination  by  the  Democratic 
party.  All  the  leaders  of  the  party  were  committed  to  his 
policies,  the  organization  was  in  his  hands,  and  he  was  much 
more  popular  among  those  who  knew  him  than  with  the 
masses.  It  was,  in  fact,  for  some  time  doubtful  whether  it 
would  be  necessary  to  hold  a  convention,  but  one  finally  met 
at  Baltimore  in  May,  1840.  The  chief  interest  in  the  action 
of  this  body  was  the  platform.  The  reunion  of  the  Calhoun 
nullifiers  with  the  party  was  marked  by  the  fact  that  this  was 
entirely  negative ;  denying  the  power  of  Congress  to  carry  on 
a  general  system  of  internal  improvements,  to  assume  state 
debts,  to  adopt  a  protective  tariff ,  to  charter  a  bank  or  "to 
interfere  with  or  control  the  domestic  institutions  of  the 
several  states."  Economy,  strict  construction,  Jeffersonian 
principles,  and  the  "separation  of  the  moneys  of  the  govern 
ment  from  banking  institutions  "  were  commended. 

The  unpopularity  of  the  Van  Buren  administration  gave 
his  opponents  unusual  opportunities  for  success,  if  only  har 
mony  could  be  secured.  During  the  administration  the 
different  elements  of  the  opposition  had  been  drawing  more 
closely  together.  As  early  as  1834  the  opposition  had  begun 
to  use  a  new  party  name,  "Whig,"  which  did  not  revive  any 
recent  political  memories,  but  called  to  mind  only  the  Rev 
olutionary  struggle  during  which  it  was  applied  to  the  pa 
triotic  party.  John  Quincy  Adams  wrote:  "There  are  no 
two  that  hold  any  great  political  principle  in  common.  Most 


POLITICAL  PARTIES  IN  1840  245 

of  them  call  themselves  Whigs,  only  for  the  sake  of  calling 
their  adversaries  Tories."  Apart  from  opposition  to  the 
party  in  power,  their  strongest  bonds  consisted  in  the  magnet 
ism  of  their  great  leaders,  Clay  and  Webster,  and  in  the  fact 
that  they  represented  to  some  degree  a  banding  together  of 
those  having  vested  interests  thought  to  be  imperiled  by  the 
radical  doctrines  of  the  Jackson  Democracy.  As  Adams  said 
in  the  letter  quoted  above :  "  Clay,  as  you  know,  rose  upon  the 
broadest  shoulders  of  democracy.  But  his  European  ex 
pedition  tinged  both  his  principles  and  his  deportment  with 
aristocracy  —  perhaps  to  the  improvement  of  his  character, 
but  to  the  loss  of  his  standing  with  the  Democracy."  The 
one  political  bond  of  union  among  all  the  Whigs  was  a  demand 
for  good  government,  and  a  confidence  that  their  leaders 
were  best  calculated  to  give  the  country  a  clean  administra 
tion.  Their  divergence  upon  all  other  questions,  and  the 
personal  independence  both  of  leaders  and  followers,  made 
any  close  organization  impossible,  and,  perhaps  partly  through 
jealousy,  they  always  condemned  the  organization  of  the 
Democrats  as  destructive  of  personal  freedom.  The  unity 
of  the  Whigs  was  more  social  than  political. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  was  very  important  to  Nomination 
select  a  candidate  who  would  arouse  no  antagonisms.  Clay  of  Hamson- 
was  very  anxious  to  secure  the  nomination  and  considered  it 
but  a  just  return  for  his  long  years  of  political  service.  Prac 
tical  politicians,  however,  felt  that  he  had  too  long  a  record  to 
defend,  and  that  his  position  on  public  questions  was  too  well 
known ;  his  withdrawal  from  the  Masonic  order  failed  to  con 
ciliate  the  powerful  Antimasonic  leaders,  Stevens  and  Weed. 
The  Whig  national  convention — for  the  leaders  had  deter 
mined  again  to  employ  that  useful  method  of  securing  unity 
of  action — met  at  Harrisburg,  in  December,  1839.  A  plurality 
favored  Clay,  but  the  NewYork  delegation  had  been  won  from 
him  by  that  astute  political  manager,  Thurlow  Weed,  and  cast 
its  vote  for  General  Scott.  General  Harrison  stood  between 


246  THE  VAN  BUREN  ADMINISTRATION 

them  in  strength,  and  after  a  number  of  ballots  New  York 
voted  for  him,  and  he  was  chosen.  As  Harrison  sympathized 
with  the  Antimasons  and  had  been  the  National  Republican 
candidate  in  1836,  John  Tyler  of  Virginia  was  nominated  for 
the  vice  presidency  to  give  representation  to  the  element  that 
had,  in  1836,  voted  for  Judge  White.  The  convention  adopted 
no  platform,  nor  could  its  policy  be  guessed  from  its  candi 
dates.  Harrison's  record  did  not  indicate  any  decided  polit 
ical  preferences,  and  any  inferences  that  might  be  surmised 
from  his  running  in  1836  as  National  Republican  were  offset 
by  the  record  of  Tyler,  who  was  a  genuine  Jeffersonian 
Democrat.  It  was  a  neutral  tinted  ticket,  properly  repre 
senting  a  coalition  party. 

Campaign  of  As  if  to  disguise  their  lack  of  unity  the  Whigs  inaugurated 
a  campaign  of  enthusiasm.  For  the  first  time  the  methods 
of  the  circus  were  employed  for  political  purposes.  Cam 
paign  songs  were  sung,  uniformed  processions  paraded  the 
streets,  giant  mass  meetings  were  held,  drawing  in  the  country 
population  for  miles  around.  Bizarre  bets  were  made,  and 
dignified  gentlemen  indulged  in  buffoonery  for  the  delight  of 
the  masses.  Harrison  was  popularized  as  "  Tippecanoe," 
or  "Old  Tip,"  and  he  was  represented  as  wearing  a  coon- 
skin  cap  and  drinking  hard  cider,  as  opposed  to  Van  Buren, 
who  was  accused  of  having  English  servants  and  using  gold 
spoons.  The  log  cabin  was  exalted  into  a  symbol  of  liberty, 
and  no  procession  was  complete  without  one.  Logic  and 
political  argument  were  thrown  to  the  winds,  and  the  Whig 
party,  the  party  of  gentlemen,  abandoned  itself  to  a  frenzy 
of  popular  merrymaking.  Unusual  as  such  methods  appeared, 
they  were  based  upon  sound  judgment.  Life  in  America 
in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  far  from  jolly. 
Particularly  in  the  newer  portions  of  the  country  the  hard 
struggle  with  the  wilderness  left  little  energy  for  the  pursuit 
of  pleasure,  and  to  an  unusual  degree  it  was  a  solitary  struggle, 
often  waged  far  from  any  settlement  or  even  neighboring 


ELECTION  OF   1840  247 

habitation.  There  was  little  leisure  in  such  circumstances 
for  the  development  of  the  fine  art  of  amusement.  The 
tragedy  of  the  lonely  emigrant  wife,  far  from  her  home  as 
sociations,  with  her  nearest  neighbors  miles  away  and  brought 
together  but  a  few  times  a  year  by  "bees"  for  barn  raising 
or  corn  husking,  was  long  drawn  out  and  drab  and  bitter. 
The  men  fared  somewhat  better.  They  met  oftener  and 
entertained  each  other  by  rough  practical  jokes  and  those 
bragging  tales  which  are  so  peculiarly  characteristic  of  Amer 
ican  humor.  Institutions  which  nearly  touched  the  people 
naturally  adapted  themselves  to  these  conditions.  The 
churches,  with  their  camp  meetings  and  revivals,  their  devil 
treeing  and  violent  conversions,  afforded  an  opportunity  for 
the  outburst  of  the  pent-up  emotions  of  the  discouraged 
father  or  the  homesick  wife.  The  colporteurs  and  itinerant 
preachers  were  welcome  for  their  society  as  well  as  for  their 
religious  consolation.  Political  life,  with  the  barbecues,  the 
stump  speeches,  and  the  processions  with  gay  uniforms  and 
the  banners  flying,  satisfied  their  innate  human  longing  for 
display,  and  their  love  for  the  cruder  manifestations  of  humor. 
The  political  orator  took  the  place,  for  many,  of  all  solid 
reading;  the  public  meeting,  of  the  theater;  for  a  great 
number  the  mere  fact  of  being  in  a  crowd  was  sufficient  re 
ward  for  a  twenty-mile  ride  over  a  stumpy  road.  The  Whigs, 
by  making  politics  amusing,  made  them  popular:  in  1836 
the  popular  vote  was  about  1,500,000;  in  1840,  it  was  over 
2,400,000.  That  the  Whigs  adopted  these  methods  be 
cause  of  their  unwillingness  to  discuss  issues,  is  to  a  large  ex 
tent  true,  but  one  can  scarcely  regret  that  they  gave  the 
people  a  few  weeks  of  relaxation. 

Naturally  the  Whigs  gained  the  larger  part  of  this  increased  The  election, 
vote,  though  Van  Buren  also  gained  in  every  state  except  hi 
Kentucky.    Harrison  received  about  540,000  more  votes  than 
he,  Webster,  and  White  had  received  in  1836 ;  and  Van  Buren, 
about  365,000  more  than  he  had  then  received.    The  Whig 


248 


THE  VAN   BUREN  ADMINISTRATION 


Sources. 


Historical 
accounts. 
Financial 
questions. 


Politics, 
etc. 


gains  were  distributed  over  all  the  country,  but  they  were 
greatest  in  Maine  and  New  Hampshire,  which  were  disturbed 
over  the  boundary  disputes,  and  in  the  regions  where  the 
ideas  of  Jefferson  retained  the  largest  number  of  adherents. 
The  Democrats  carried  only  7  states  and  60  electoral  votes, 
to  19  states  and  234  electoral  votes  given  to  Harrison ;  the 
Whigs  obtained  a  majority  of  37  in  the  House  and  7  in  the 
Senate. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

For  economic  questions,  Callender,  G.  W.,  Economic  History, 
578-584  is  useful.  For  politics:  Clay's  Private  Correspondence, 
ch.  XI.  Sargent,  N.,  Public  Men  and  Events,  II,  chs.  V  and  VI. 
Wise,  H.  A.,  Seven  Decades  of  the  Union.  Where  none  of  these  are 
available,  Tyler,  L.  G.,  Lives  and  Times  of  the  Tylers,  chs.  19  and 
20,  gives  many  letters  and  an  intimate  though  decidedly  partisan 
view. 

Bourne,  E.  G.,  The  Distribution  of  the  Surplus.  Dewey,  D.  R., 
Financial  History,  ch.  X;  and  his,  State  Banking.  Kinley,  D., 
The  Independent  Treasury.  Ormsby,  E.  McK.,  The  Whig  Party, 
ch.  XXV.  Schurz,  C.,  Clay,  II,  ch.  XIX.  Scott,  W.  A.,  Repudia 
tion  of  State  Debts.  Shepard,  E.  M.,  Van  Bur  en,  chs.  VIII,  IX. 
Sumner,  W.  G.,  American  Currency,  131-161. 

Fiske,  J.,  Essays  Historical  and  Literary,  I,  VII,  VIII.  Gar 
rison,  G.  P.,  Westward  Extension,  43-67.  McCarthy,  C.,  The  Anti- 
masonic  Party  (Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,  Report,  1902,  I,  367-575). 
Schurz,  Clay,  II,  ch.  XX. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
HARRISON  AND  TYLER 

THE  events  which  turned  the  exuberance  of  the  Whig  Difficulties 
victory  into  bitterness  and  recrimination  seemed  to  the  lead 
ers  of  the  party  surprising,  disappointing,  and  accidental, 
but  to  one  looking  back  at  them  after  a  lapse  of  time,  they 
seem  natural  and  in  part  inevitable.  It  is  comparatively 
easy  to  build  up  a  party  of  opposition  out  of  divergent  ele 
ments  ;  there  is  strong  cohesive  power  in  hatred  and  distrust, 
and  active  administrations  like  those  of  Jackson  and  Van 
Buren  naturally  create  a  host  of  enemies  willing  to  sink  their 
differences  in  order  to  obtain  a  victory  over  the  common  foe. 
It  is  a  very  different  thing  to  hold  such  a  party  together  when 
it  comes  to  power  and  is  confronted  with  the  question  of  how 
to  make  use  of  its  victory.  It  has  already  been  shown  how 
the  Jackson  party  of  1828  disintegrated  as  the  positive  pro 
gram  of  the  administration  developed.  It  could  hardly  be 
expected  that  the  Whigs  could  reap  any  definite  fruits  of 
their  success  without  alienating  some  of  those  who  aided  to 
elect  Harrison.  It  remained  to  be  seen  whether,  out  of  the  \ 
loosely  bound  Whig  party  of  1840,  the  leaders  could  save,  as 
Jackson  had  done,  enough  support  to  carry  through  a  con 
structive  program. 

Harrison  formed  a  strong  cabinet,  with  Webster  as  Secre-  The  patron- 
tary  of  State,  and  with   four   friends   of  Clay,  the  South  age< 
being  represented  by  three  members  and  the  North  by  three. 
Clay  refused  a  position,  but  made  it  evident  that  he  looked 
upon  himself  as  the  leader  of  the  party.     So  eager  was  he 
to  begin  work  that  he  persuaded  the  President  to  summon 
an  extra  session  of  Congress  to  meet  May  31,  1841.     At  once 

249 


250 


HARRISON  AND  TYLER 


Death  of 
Harrison. 


John  Tyler. 


signs  of  trouble  began  to  appear.  The  first  dispute  arose 
from  the  distribution  of  the  patronage.  The  point  of  greatest 
unity  among  the  Whigs  had  been  their  attack  upon  the  spoils 
system.  They  had  condemned  the  practice  of  indiscriminate 
removal,  they  had  attempted  to  establish  the  principle  that 
the  Senate  should  share  the  removal  power,  and  they  had 
denounced  the  Democratic  policy  of  making  appointments  for 
political  reasons.  When  they  came  to  power,  however,  they 
made  almost  as  many  removals  as  Jackson  had  done.  The 
practice  of  removal  once  begun,  it  was  found  to  require  un 
usual  self-restraint  to  bring  it  to  an  end.  If  the  civil  service 
under  Van  Buren  was  as  corrupt  as  the  Whig  orators  had 
declared,  it  was,  indeed,  necessary  to  make  extensive  changes 
of  personnel.  Moreover,  there  was  as  great  pressure  for  ap 
pointment  in  1841  as  in  1829;  in  fact,  the  crowd  of  applicants 
was  greater,  and  if,  as  Adams  writes,  more  orderly,  it  was  at 
any  rate  as  persistent.  The  greater  leaders  of  the  party 
were  disgusted  at  this  appetite  for  office  and  tried  to  keep 
their  hands  clean  of  it ;  but  the  lesser  leaders  were  as  active 
as  the  Jacksonian  patronage  mongers,  and  soon  it  was  evident 
that  now,  as  twelve  years  before,  political  considerations  were 
to  have  the  greatest  weight  in  determining  appointments. 

It  was  impossible  to  keep  entirely  clear  of  this  turmoil,  and 
within  ten  days  after  the  inauguration  Clay  and  Harrison  had 
quarreled  over  the  appointment  to  the  New  York  customs 
collectorship.  How  this  personal  disagreement  would  have 
affected  the  carrying  out  of  Clay's  legislative  plans,  can  never 
be  known.  Before  the  Congress  met,  office  hunting  had  had 
a  still  more  serious  result.  The  tireless  importunities  of  the 
crowds  which  infested  the  White  House  broke  down  the  con 
stitution  of  the  President,  and  were  in  part  the  cause  of  his 
death  on  April  4,  1841,  just  one  month  after  taking  office. 

The  death  of  Harrison  brought  for  the  first  time  to  the 
presidency  a  man  chosen  as  Vice  President.  Gouverneur 
Morris  and  other  Federalists  had  in  1801  opposed  the  adop- 


JOHN  TYLER  251 

tion  of  the  Twelfth  Amendment  on  the  ground  that  a  man 
elected  expressly  to  that  somewhat  ambiguous  position  would 
nearly  always  be  of  the  second  rank.  They  preferred  the 
older  method,  by  which  each  elector  voted  for  two  persons  for 
President,  and  the  person  receiving  the  second  largest  number 
of  votes  became  Vice  President,  believing  that  in  this  way  the 
latter  officer  would  always  be  a  man  of  presidential  caliber. 
While  their  method  of  preserving  the  dignity  of  the  office 
might  not  have  been  effective,  the  danger  that  they  foresaw 
was  a  real  one.  In  the  present  instance  still  another  element 
of  danger  was  present;  the  vice  presidency  had  been  used  to 
conciliate  a  minority  faction,  and  now  that  the  President  was 
dead,  the  representative  of  this  minority  fell  heir  to  all  the 
executive  power.  So  much  alarm  was  felt  among  the  Whig 
leaders  that  there  was  some  disposition  to  treat  Tyler  as  "act 
ing  President,"  somewhat  shorn  of  the  extreme  prerogatives 
of  office ;  but  his  decided  and  proper  insistence  that  he  be 
credited  with  the  full  range  of  executive  power,  prevented  this 
attempt  to  stay  the  natural  result  of  their  improvidence. 

The  alarm  of  those  Whig  leaders  who  wished  to  revive  Tyler's  char- 
an  active  nationalistic  policy  was  certainly  justified.  Tyler 
was  strongly  committed  by  thirty  years  of  public  life  to  the 
strictest  school  of  constitutional  construction,  nor  was  he 
likely  to  modify  his  views.  His  leading  personal  character 
istic  was  an  extreme  vanity  which  had  been  fostered  by  the 
established  position  of  his  family,  the  precocious  develop 
ment  of  his  talent,  and  a  rare  beauty  and  grace  of  manner 
which  had  made  the  path  of  life  easy  for  him.  The  pride  of 
his  political  life  was  his  unwavering  consistency,  which  had 
led  him  back  and  forth  from  one  party  to  another  as  each 
seemed  to  him  to  depart  from  the  clear  injunctions  of  the 
Constitution.  That  every  such  change  of  party  had  been 
followed  by  political  advancement  seemed  to  him  but  the 
proper  reward  of  virtue,  and  the  historian  must  record  'that 
these  changes  of  party  allegiance  were  made  with  all  sincerity 


252 


HARRISON  AND  TYLER 


Clay's  pro 
gram. 


The  cur 
rency. 


of  purpose.  He  had  none  of  those  occasional  doubts  as  to  the 
fallibility  of  his  own  opinions  which  are  apt  to  come  to  the 
humble-minded  ;  he  had  none  of  that  respect  for  the  opinions 
of  others  which  is  developed  by  the  difficulties  of  life.  He  was 
a  pure  man,  with  high  and  laudable  ambitions,  but  he  lacked 
the  comprehensive  sympathy  and  understanding  of  a  states 
man  ;  he  was  a  man  of  talent,  and  a  gentleman,  but  not  a 
great  man. 

Tyler  kept  in  office  the  cabinet  of  Harrison  and  he  met 
the  special  session  of  Congress  with  a  message  that  was  some 
what  ambiguous  and  somewhat  conciliatory.  The  message, 
however,  received  little  attention,  for  Clay  at  once  took  the 
lead  and  introduced  a  resolution  outlining  the  business  of  the 
session.  The  chief  measures  he  proposed  were:  first,  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  pre-Jacksonian  fiscal  system,  by  the 
formation  of  a  new  bank  and  the  repeal  of  the  Independent 
Treasury  Act ;  secondly,  the  reestablishment  of  the  American 
system,  by  the  passage  of  a  tariff  act  and  a  bill  for  the  distri 
bution  of  the  proceeds  of  land  sales  among  the  states.  There 
were  other  suggestions  of  minor  importance,  and  the  party 
which  had  come  into  power  without  a  platform,  found  before 
it  one  of  the  heaviest  programs  of  work  ever  suggested  for 
immediate  accomplishment. 

The  restoration  of  the  finances  was  first  taken  up.  The 
deficit,  which  Van  Buren  had  met  by  the  temporary  expe 
dient  of  treasury  notes,  was  now  provided  for  by  a  loan  of 
$12,000,000,  though  the  objection  to  a  permanent  national 
debt  was  still  so  strong  that  the  term  of  the  loan  was  too  short 
to  make  capitalists  eager  to  buy  the  bonds.  More  important 
was  the  repeal  of  the  Independent  Treasury  Act,  which  was 
speedily  rushed  through  and  signed  by  the  President.  The 
Whigs  had  now  to  provide  a  substitute  for  the  system  they 
had  overthrown.  In  doing  so  they  wished  to  furnish  a  means 
not  only  for  doing  the  business  of  the  government,  but  for 
regulating  the  currency.  They  wished  to  put  an  end  to  the 


CLAY'S   PROGRAM  253 

divorce  between  the  government  and  the  business  world. 
Tyler,  after  discussing  the  subject  in  his  message,  con 
cluded:  "To  you,  then,  who  have  come  more  directly  from 
the  body  of  our  common  constituents,  I  submit  the  entire 
question,  as  best  qualified  to  give  a  full  exposition  of  their 
wishes.  I  shall  be  ready  to  concur  with  you  in  the 
adoption  of  such  system  as  you  may  propose,  reserving 
to  myself  the  ultimate  power  of  rejecting  any  measure  " 
which  may,  in  my  view  of  it,  conflict  with  the  Constitution 
or  otherwise  jeopardize  the  prosperity  of  the  country  — 
a  power  which  I  could  not  part  with  even  if  I  would,  but 
which  I  will  not  believe  any  act  of  yours  will  call  into 
requisition." 

Congress  could  suggest  no  method  other  than  the  estab-  The  bank 
lishment  of  a  bank.  Knowing  Tyler's  constitutional  objec 
tion  to  such  an  institution,  the  Whig  leaders  took  the  greatest 
care  to  meet  his  views  so  far  as  they  were  known.  The  plan 
provided  for  a  "Fiscal  Bank,"  located  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  over  which  the  power  of  Congress  was  complete. 
The  crucial  question  was  with  regard  to  the  power  to  estab 
lish  branches  in  the  states.  Clay  wished  the  bank  to  have 
power  to  establish  them,  but  Congress  attempted  to  compro 
mise  by  implying  the  permanent  assent  of  the  state  unless 
the  legislature,  at  its  first  session  after  the  passage  of  the  bill, 
protested  against  such  action.  The  bill  passed  in  this  form, 
and  Tyler  vetoed  it  on  August  16,  1841.  Negotiations  were 
at  once  begun  between  Congress  and  the  administration, 
and  a  bill  was  drawn  up  by  Ewing,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  Webster,  which  it  was  understood  that  Tyler 
would  sign.  This  provided  for  a  "Fiscal  Corporation"  in 
stead  of  a  bank  and  deprived  it  of  the  power  of  discount  and 
of  local  exchange,  but  it  was  allowed  to  operate  throughout 
the  country.  On  September  9  Tyler  vetoed  this  bill,  bringing 
the  utmost  discouragement  to  the  Whig  leaders,  and  over 
whelming  anger  to  the  rank  and  file  of  the  party,  which  had 


254 


HARRISON  AND  TYLER 


Break  be 
tween  Tyler 
and  the 
Whigs. 


Whig  legisla 
tion. 


been  given  reason  to  believe  that  Tyler  had  promised  to 
accept  it. 

The  second  veto  was  the  signal  for  a  party  crisis.  The 
entire  cabinet  resigned  with  the  exception  of  Webster,  and 
Clay  so  bitterly  assailed  the  President  as  to  make  reconcilia 
tion  impossible.  Tyler  was  accused  of  breaking  his  word  in 
regard  to  the  second  bank  bill,  and  of  being  a  traitor  to  his 
party.  Clay  as  emphatically  declared  that  the  people  in 
the  election  of  1840  had  decided  for  the  bank,  as  Jackson 
had  asserted  their  opposition  to  it  in  1832.  One  session  of 
Congress  had  sufficed  to  rend  the  party  in  twain.  Tyler  did 
not  at  once  despair  of  carrying  the  bulk  of  it  with  him,  making 
himself  its  leader,  and  being  its  candidate  in  1844.  He  had 
a  coterie  of  personal  friends,  called  in  derision  because  of  their 
number  the  "corporal's  guard,"  but  of  an  ability  that  some 
what  atoned  for  their  lack  of  votes.  Foremost  among  them 
was  Henry  A.  Wise,  who  was  to  succeed  him  as  the  representa 
tive  of  the  purest  Virginian  political  tradition.  Another 
prominent  figure  was  Caleb  Gushing,  who  represented  a  long 
line  of  individualists  that  had  dominated  the  thought  of 
Salem,  Massachusetts,  from  the  earliest  colonial  times,  and 
had  continually  opposed  the  aggressive  strong  government 
element  of  Boston  and  other  portions  of  that  commonwealth. 
The  fact  that  Webster  was  willing  to  retain  his  place  was  a 
great  encouragement  to  Tyler,  who  warmly  rejoiced  when  he 
heard  of  it,  and  said,  "  Give  me  your  hand  on  that,  and  now 
I  will  say  to  you  that  Henry  Clay  is  a  doomed  man  from  this 
hour." 

Tyler's  hopes  proved  delusive,  for  Clay's  magnetic  and 
vigorous  leadership  kept  together  a  sufficient  portion  of  the 
party  to  give  him  still  a  majority  in  Congress.  As  this 
majority  was  far  less  than  two  thirds,  however,  measures 
could  not  be  passed  over  a  veto,  and  only  such  parts  of  his 
program  could  be  carried  as  Tyler  was  willing  to  accept. 
Increased  appropriations  were  made  for  the  navy,  and  a  na- 


WHIG  LEGISLATION  255 

tional  bankruptcy  bill,  always  demanded  by  the  business 
interests,  was  passed,  though  it  remained  on  the  statute 
books  only  two  years.  The  preemption  system,  which  had 
been  maintained  since  1830  by  annual  acts,  was  made  per 
manent.  The  American  system  was  adopted,  but  only  in 
fragmentary  fashion.  The  first  portion  attempted  was  a  bill 
for  the  distribution  of  the  proceeds  of  land  sales.  It  was  urged 
that  the  funds  thus  given  would  enable  the  states  to  meet  the 
interest  on  their  debts  and  might  prevent  the  threatened 
repudiation.  An  object  still  more  prominent  in  Clay's  mind 
was  that,  by  thus  reducing  the  income  of  the  national  govern 
ment,  there  would  be  stronger  inducement  for  raising  the 
duties  on  imports  at  the  next  session,  when  the  compromise 
of  1833  would  work  itself  out.  So  clearly  was  this  political 
purpose  appreciated  that  the  opposition  succeeded  in  ap 
pending  an  amendment  to  the  effect  that  the  distribution 
should  not  be  made  if  at  any  time  the  duties  should  exceed 
twenty  per  cent. 

When  Congress  met  for  the  next  session,  the  finances  of  Thetariff. 
the  government  were  in  a  rather  serious  condition.  The 
country  had  not  yet  recovered  its  prosperity,  and  the  im 
pending  reductions  of  the  tariff  on  January  i  and  June  30, 
1842,  threatened  a  serious  deficit.  The  situation  was,  there 
fore,  favorable  for  a  reestablishment  of  the  protective  system. 
Even  Tyler  stated  in  his  message  that,  while  that  compromise 
was  sacred  and  its  spirit  should  control  all  tariff  legislation, 
"  the  government  may  be  justified  in  so  discriminating  by 
reference  to  other  considerations  of  domestic  policy  con 
nected  with  our  manufactures."  The  situation  was  made 
still  more  easy  by  the  willingness  of  a  large  number  of  Dem 
ocrats  from  Pennsylvania  and  New  York  to  vote  for  pro 
tection.  Under  these  circumstances  the  protectionist  leaders 
would  have  had  an  easy  task  had  it  not  been  for  the  deter 
mination  of  Clay  to  join  the  issue  of  distribution  with  the 
tariff.  A  bill  was  introduced  which  raised  duties,  gave  pref- 


256  HARRISON  AND  TYLER 

erence  to  freights  brought  in  American  vessels,  and  provided 
for  the  repeal  of  the  restrictive  amendment  to  the  land  dis 
tribution  bill.  Gilmer,  of  the  corporal's  guard,  said  of  this : 
"The  restriction  in  the  distribution  act  of  1841  was  designed 
to  guard  against  increasing  the  burdens  of  taxation  to  fill  a 
vacuum  which  might  be  occasioned  by  distribution.  The 
legislation  of  1842  is  designed  to  create  a  vacuum  that  it 
may  be  filled  by  increased  taxation."  The  Whig  majority 
held  firm,  and  passed  first  a  provisional,  and  then  a  perma 
nent,  bill,  only  to  have  both  vetoed  by  the  President.  The 
House  of  Representatives,  following  the  precedent  of  the 
Senate  in  1833,  censured  the  President,  who  like  Jackson 
responded  with  a  "Protest."  Impeachment  was  threatened, 
but  the  President  was  not  to  be  coerced;  and  the  Whigs  were 
forced  to  abandon  distribution  or  take  t^ie  responsibility  of 
adjourning  without  providing  the  government  with  sufficient 
revenue.  Clay  was  in  favor  of  holding  out,  forcing  the  Presi 
dent  to  veto  again,  and  taking  the  issue  to  the  people,  but  the 
majority  decided  otherwise^  and  the  bill  without  its  distri 
bution  feature  was  at  length  passed.  Even  this  fragment  of 
the  Whig  program  was  carried  only  with  the  assistance  of 
twenty  Democrats,  for  thirty-five  Whigs  voted  against  it, 
about  twenty  of  these  because  they  wished  to  hold  out  for 
distribution  and  the  rest  because  they  disapproved  of  a  pro 
tective  tariff.  The  Whigs  soon  found  cause  to  congratulate 
themselves  on  their  yielding  in  this  case.  Almost  coincident 
with  the  passage  of  the  tariff  act  came  the  long-hoped-for 
revival  of  prosperity,  and,  whether  it  were  the  result  of  this 
legislation  or  from  natural  causes,  it  could  at  any  rate  be 
used  by  their  orators  as  an  argument  of  their  wisdom. 
Relations  While  Congress  and  the  President  were  thus  at  odds, 

England.  Webster  was  quietly  at  work  adjusting  our  difficulties  with 
England.  In  1 84 1  Peel  became  Prime  Minister,  and  he  evinced 
a  strong  desire  for  a  complete  settlement  of  all  outstanding 
difficulties  between  the  two  countries.  To  accomplish  this 


FOREIGN  RELATIONS  257 

he  sent,  as  special  minister  to  the  United  States,  Lord  Ash- 
burton,  a  man  always  friendly  to  America  and  having  close 
relations  with  Webster.  The  negotiations,  thus  pleasantly 
begun,  involved  many  questions,  some  of  long  standing  and 
some  of  peculiar  delicacy. 

Two  problems  arose  out  of  the  Canadian  insurrection.  The  Caroline 
The  first  was  that  of  the  Caroline,  an  American  vessel  used  and  McLeod- 
by  the  insurgents,  which  the  English  had  seized  while  at 
dock  on  the  American  shore  of  the  Niagara  River,  and  sent 
blazing  into  the  current  and  over  the  falls.  In  the  excite 
ment  an  American  citizen  was  killed.  This  matter  was 
closed  by  an  interchange  of  notes,  which  proved  mutually 
satisfactory  and  which  were  calculated  to  make  such  epi 
sodes  unlikely  in  the  future.  The  second  case  arose  as  an 
aftermath  of  the  Caroline  affair.  A  certain  Alexander 
McLeod,  coming  from  Canada  to  New  York,  in  1840,  boasted 
of  having  killed  the  American  whose  life  was  then  lost. 
McLeod  was  promptly  arrested  and  put  on  trial  for  murder 
before  the  proper  state  court.  McLeod  asserted  that  he  had 
acted  upon  instructions  from  his  superior  officer,  and  was 
riot  personally  responsible.  The  British  government  upheld 
this  view  and  demanded  his  release.  Webster  admitted  the 
principle  advanced,  but  could  not  secure  the  release  of  Mc 
Leod  from  the  state  court,  over  which  the  national  govern 
ment  had  no  control.  The  matter  was  serious,  and  for  a  time 
even  Webster  feared  war.  The  United  States  Attorney- 
General  was  sent  to  watch  the  case,  and  finally  McLeod 
was  acquitted  on  an  alibi.  In  1842  Webster  secured  the 
passage  of  an  act  by  Congress  which  authorized  the  transfer 
of  such  cases  in  the  future  to  the  national  courts.  The  lack 
of  power  on  the  part  of  the  national  government  over  state 
courts  has  subsequently  given  trouble  in  our  relations  with 
foreign  countries,  but  no  other  case  of  quite  so  delicate  a 
character  as  this  has  arisen.  Shu**" 

Several  matters  were  settled  by  the  Webster-Ashburton  treaty. 


258  HARRISON  AND  TYLER 

Slave  trade,  treaty,  which  was  concluded  in  1842.  One  question  of 
growing  annoyance  concerned  the  slave  trade.  This  had 
been  a  very  profitable  branch  of  English  commerce  until 
Parliament  abolished  it,  after  which  England  was  especially 
eager  that  other  nations  should  not  profit  by  her  self-abne 
gation.  By  1840  it  had  been  legally  abolished  by  nearly  all 
civilized  nations,  but  all  were  not  equally  eager  or  able 
actually  to  suppress  it.  With  many  countries  England  had 
made  arrangements  that  her  navy  be  allowed  to  enforce  their 
laws.  Foremost  among  the  nations  not  bound  by  such  an 
agreement  was  the  United  States,  and  many  slavers  hoisted 
the  American  flag  and  defied  the  English  men-of-war.  The 
English  claimed  that  under  such  circumstances  they  had  the 
right  to  "visit"  the  vessel  to  ascertain  whether  it  was  prop 
erly  flying  the  American  flag.  The  American  statesmen, 
remembering  the  inconveniences  caused  by  England's  exten 
sion  of  this  right  of  visit  into  a  right  to  search  before  the 
War  of  1812,  utterly  refused  to  consider  it  as  existing  in 
time  of  peace,  and  demanded  that  under  all  circumstances 
the  American  flag  be  respected.  General  Cass,  at  this  time 
minister  to  France,  on  his  own  initiative  persuaded  that 
country  and  other  European  powers  to  refrain  from  indors 
ing  a  proposed  convention  granting  England  the  powers  she 
sought. 

Slave  trade  The  United  States  would  not  allow  the  right  of  visit, 

11561  and  England  would  not  explicitly  give  it  up.  Thereupon,  at 
the  suggestion  of  Tyler,  Webster  and  Ashburton  compromised 
the  matter  by  providing  that  a  joint  squadron  patrol  the 
African  coast,  thus  providing  for  the  suppression  of  the  trade, 
which  was  what  England  particularly  wished,  and  making 
"visits  "  of  foreign  war  vessels  unnecessary,  which  was  what 
the  United  States  desired  to  avoid.  Cass  at  once  attacked 
this  compromise  because  it  did  not  contain  an  express  re 
nunciation,  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  of  the  "right  of 
visit."  Webster  declared  that  there  was  a  tacit  renunciation, 


WEBSTER-ASHBURTON  TREATY 


259 


and  there  ensued  a  pamphlet  war  between  them.  Events 
proved  that  Cass  was  right,  and  sixteen  years  later,  when  he 
was  himself  Secretary  of  State,  he  obtained  the  concession 
which  he  thought  Webster  should  have  secured  in  1842. 

Still  more  important  were  the  questions  regarding  the  Boundary 
boundary.  That  on  the  northeast  had  been  in  dispute  since  questlons- 
1783.  In  1838  armed  conflicts,  dignified  in  the  press  by  the 
title  "Aroostook  War,"  took  place  in  Maine.  That  state 
and  Congress  both  appropriated  money  to  place  the  frontier 
in  a  state  of  defense.  Peace  was  temporarily  restored  by  a 
modus  vivendi  arranged  by  the  indefatigable  General  Scott, 
but  the  situation  remained  acute.  Webster  and  Ashburton 
took  up  this  question  in  a  friendly  spirit,  and  by  mutual  con 
cessions  succeeded  in  agreeing  upon  the  line  from  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  has  remained  until 
the  present  day. 

Much  as  was  determined,  many  problems  remained.  Questions 
Oregon  was  left  undivided  under  the  joint  occupancy  agree-  Orego^an 
ment  arranged  in  1818  and  renewed  in  1828.  Also  unsettled  the  Cr**** 
was  the  case  of  the  Creole.  This  was  a  vessel  engaged  in  the 
domestic  slave  trade  between  Virginia  and  New  Orleans. 
The  slaves  rose,  killed  a  portion  of  the  crew,  and  brought  the 
vessel  into  the  British  port  of  Nassau  in  the  West  Indies. 
There  some  of  the  negroes  were  hanged  for  murder,  and  the 
remainder  released  upon  the  ground  that  they  became  free 
on  touching  free  soil.  The  American  government  claimed 
that  the  vessel  and  all  the  negroes  should  have  been  turned 
over  to  it,  and  demanded  apology  and  compensation.  Lord 
Ashburton  defended  the  British  action.  The  case  caused  much 
agitation  in  the  United  States  because  of  its  connection  with 
slavery.  It  was  not  arranged  until  1853,  when  an  arbitra 
tion  was  agreed  upon,  and  damages  awarded  to  the  American 
owners. '  More  important,  the  general  rivalry  between  Eng 
land  and  the  United  States  for  predominance  on  the  American 
continents  remained]  Like  most  compromises  which  are 


260  HARRISON  AND   TYLER 

arranged  on  the  basis  of  mutual  accommodation  rather  than 
of  principle,  the  Webster-Ashburton  treaty  was  unpopular 
in  both  countries.  In  America  the  failure  to  settle  the 
Creole  case  and  to  obtain  a  renunciation  of  the  claim  of 
visitation  were  unpopular  in  the  South.  In  Maine  the  parti 
tion  of  the  disputed  territory  in  the  northeast  was  so  much 
disliked  that  it  took  that  state  forever  out  of  the  Whig  ranks 
and,  perhaps,  cost  Webster  the  presidential  nomination  in 
1852.  Still,  the  main  object  was  secured,  for  fairly  amicable 
relations  were  restored  between  England  and  the  United 
States,  and,  possibly,  a  war  was  averted. 

Election  of  With  the  adoption  of  the  tariff  bill  and  the  conclusion  of 

the  Webster-Ashburton  treaty,  the  last  fruits  of  the  Whig 
victory  were  garnered.  The  elections  of  1842  went  over 
whelmingly  against  them,  and  while  they  retained  a  precarious 
control  of  the  Senate,  the  Democrats  obtained  a  majority  of 
sixty  in  the  House.  With  the  two  branches  of  the  legislature 
of  opposing  political  allegiance,  and  with  the  President  and 
Senate  hostile,  there  resulted  a  legislative  and  executive 
deadlock,  and  political  attention  was  directed  toward  the 

The  Whig  next  campaign.  The  Whig  party  had  come  out  of  the  struggle 
1  44'  with  Tyler,  diminished  in  numbers,  but  with  some  gain  in 
homogeneity  and  much  in  unity  of  spirit.  Even  Webster,  after 
completing  his  diplomatic  task,  and  when  both  he  and  Tyler 
found  that  his  remaining  in  the  cabinet  had  not  been  of 
political  advantage  to  either,  resigned  and  resumed  his  old  al 
legiance.  The  party  leaders  had  had  enough  of  figureheads 
and  compromise  candidates.  They  fully  determined  to  nom 
inate  Clay,  who  had  bade  an  affecting  farewell  to  the  Senate 
in  1842  and  retired  to  his  seat  at  Ashland  to  await  the  call 
of  the  people.  The  Whig  program  would  be  a  demand  for 
the  indorsement  of  what  it  had  done  and  for  opportunity  to 
adopt  those  measures  which  had  failed. 

Van  Buren's          The  Democratic  party  seemed  to  be  still  in  the  hands  of 
following.        the  oM  leaders<     It  was  their  belief  that  Van  Buren  must  be 


POLITICAL  PARTIES   IN   1844  261 

renominated  to  vindicate  the  party.  Jackson  was  in  favor 
of  him  and  he  was  indorsed  by  the  Globe  and  by  a  series  of 
state  conventions,  and  a  majority  of  the  delegates  to  the  na 
tional  convention  were  pledged  to  his  support.  A  Van 
Buren  platform  was  as  easily  formed  as  one  for  Clay,  and  the 
people  of  the  country  would  have  the  opportunity  to  vote  intel 
ligently  on  issues  which  had  long  been  denned  and  discussed. 

Besides  these  regular  candidates  there  were  two  other  Caihoun's 
important  aspirants.  Calhoun,  now  once  more  within  the 
Democratic  party,  planned  to  secure  the  nomination  he  had 
expected  in  1832.  He  left  the  Senate  in  1843,  his  works  and 
a  biographical  sketch  were  published,  and  he  was  a  declared 
candida£e.^  The  main  issues  upon  which  he  opposed  Van 
Buren  and  to  which  he  wished  to  commit  the  Democratic 
party,  were  free  trade  and  reform.  He  "laid  down  the  broad 
proposition,  that  imports  and  exports  are  reciprocal,  and 
mutually  limit  one  another;  that  we  cannot  export  in  the 
long  run  more  than  we  import,  and  vice  versa  —  a  proposition, 
which,"  he  wrote,  "I  think  has  never  been  fully  realized." 
On  this  point  he  would  have  the  support  of  all  southern  and 
many  other  Democrats,  but  it  was  a  question  which  the  north 
ern  politicians  wished  to  avoid.  Calhoun  feared  also  that 
Van  Buren's  election  would  lead  again  to  administrative 
demoralization.  He  wrote:  " There  is  much,  very  much  to 
do,  to  reform  the  administrative  departments.  It  will  prove 
to  be  a  difficult  task,  requiring  vast  labor,  great  firmness, 
and  no  little  sagacity.  I  feel  assured,  the  expenditures  may 
be  reduced  millions,  without  impairing  the  efficiency  of  the 
government,  but  the  work  will  require  the  hearty  cooperation 
of  the  executive  and  legislative  departments  of  the  govern 
ment,  the  former  taking  the  lead;  and  even  then,  it  will 
require  years  to  effect  it.  Congress  can  do  little  of  itself. 
It  must  be  the  great  work  of  the  next  administration ;  and 
unless  it  is  thoroughly  done,  all  will  be  lost.  If  I  can  be  of 
any  future  service  to  the  country  it  will  be  in  carrying  through 


262  HARRISON  AND  TYLER 

this  great  reform.  .  .  .  My  congressional  task,  in  short,  is 
done.  ...  It  rests  with  the  people  to  say,  whether  I  shall  be 
selected  to  finish  the  work,  which  has  been  carried  forward  to 
where  it  now  is."  He  was  opposed  to  party  organization 
and  the  tyranny  exerted  by  state  conventions,  and  favored  the 
choice  of  delegates  to  the  natioiml  convention  by  disJnicts. 
In  a  word,  he  wished  to  run  as  Democratic  candidate  on  a 
platform  which  was  chiefly  made  up  of  southern  demands; 
his  weakness  lay  in  his  lack  of  an  issue  distinctly  appealing 
to  the  frontier  and  northern  democracies. 

Tyler's  plans.  The  fourth  candidate  was  the  President.  His  hope  of 
securing  the  Whig  nomination  had  vanished,  but  he  had  other 
plans.  With  his  natural  suavity  of  Manner  he  found  it  easy 
to  keep  on  agreeable  terms  with  the  Democratic  leaders  in 
Congress,  and  he  had  some  thought  that  he  might  be  the 
choice  of  that  party.  In  the  meantime  he  actively  employed 
the  patronage  in  rewarding  and  enheartening  his  own  per 
sonal  following,  and  was  determined  to  run  independently  if 
rejected  by  both  parties.  He  too,  like  Calhoun,  needed  a 
fresh  issue,  and  he  was  planning  to  associate  with  his  name 
the  question  of  Texan  annexation,  which  had  proved  dis 
tasteful  to  those  in  control  of  both  party  organizations. 

In  order  to  understand  the  circumstances  that  shaped 
the  fortunes  of  these  rivals,  and  determined  the  campaign  of 
1844,  it  is  necessary  to  review  the  situation  of  the  country  at 
large,  and  note  the  development  of  certain  new  factors  that, 
while  playing  small  part  in  politics  before  1843,  were  to 
dominate  them  for  the  next  twenty  years. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

Sources.  The  Papers  of  J.  C.  Calhoun  (letters  to  and  from  him),  pub 

lished  in  Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,  R&port,  1899,  vol.  II,  are  especially  illu 
minating  for  this  period.  The  sources  mentioned  at  the  close  of 
the  last  chapter,  also,  continue  to  be  of  use.  See  also  National 
Monetary  Commission,  Laws  Concerning  Money. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES  263 

Dewey,   D.    R.,   Financial  History,   §§  102,  103.     Garrison,   Historical 
Westward  Extension,   43-84.    Lodge,  H.    C.,   Webster,  ch.  VIII.   accounts- 
Schurz,  Clay,  chs.  XXII,  XXIII.     Stanwood,  E.,  Tariff  Contro 
versies,  II,  ch.  XI.     Tyler,    L.  G.,  Letters  and  Lives  of  the  Tylers, 
II,  chs.  I- VI.     Von  Hoist,  H.,  Constitutional    History,  II,  chs. 
V,  VI. 

Moore,  J.  B.,  Arbitrations,  I,  chs.  I- VI;  International  Law  Diplo 
Digesf,  II,  24-29.  Reeves,  J.  S.,  American  Diplomacy  under  Tyler  matlc< 
and  Polk.  Webster,  D.,  Works,  V,  116-135;  VI,  247-269. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
NEW  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL    CONDITIONS,  1830  TO  1860 

THE  period  of  the  thirties,  forties,  and  fifties  was  one  of 
unusually  stimulating  activity  affecting  the  whole  life  of  the 
people.  Many  of  the  new  tendencies  and  developments 
which  first  attract  attention  soon  after  the  War  of  1812  now 
attain  full  stature  and  become  dominating  forces,  and  many 
new  factors  appear  which  were  destined  to  vie  with  them  in 
significance.  The  changes  of  this  period  were  not  perhaps  of 
so  deep  and  underlying  importance  as  those  between  1815  and 
1830,  but  they  were  more  widespread  and  some  of  them  more 
striking. 

Canals.  Most  significant  of  the  economic  changes  was  the  im 

provement  in  the  means  of  transportation.  Washington  had 
seen  the  importance  of  that  problem  to  the  future  of  the 
country  and  had  grappled  with  it,  but  hardly  anything  had 
been  done  before  his  death  except  the  building  of  not  very 
good  toll  roads  and  bridges.  The  invention  of  the  steam 
boat  had  suddenly  opened  up  the  immense  stretches  of  navi 
gable  water  in  the  interior,  and  made  it  possible  to  live  and  do 
business  on  almost  every  river  bank.  Then -came  the  lock 
canal,  clearing  away  many  of  the  obstacles  which  rapids  and 
falls  offered  to  the  steamboat,  and,  by  connecting  the  heads  of 
rivers,  joining  one  river  basin  to  another.  Many  seaports 
by  such  constructions  brought  to  their  wharves  the  products 
of  all  the  surrounding  country,  and  the  Erie  Canal  and  the 
Pennsylvania  Canal  and  inclined  planes  afforded  cheap  means 
of  connection  between  the  East  and  the  West.  In  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Illinois,  canals  connected  rivers  flowing  into  the 
Lakes  with  branches  of  the  Ohio,  and  plans  were  made  to 

264 


RAILROADS  265 

utilize  the  portage  between  the  Fox  and  the  Wisconsin.  The 
twenties  and  the  thirties  were  preeminently  the  period  of  the 
canal.  Already,  however,  another  method  had  been  devised 
which  was  to  supersede  water  transit,  for  a  time  at  least. 

The  railroad  was  introduced  in  1825,  and  after  a  few  years  Railroads, 
the  steam  engine  came  to  be  used  in  connection  with  it. 
Railroad  construction  was  cheaper  than  that  of  canals,  rail 
roads  could  be  built  over  many  routes  where  canals  were 
impossible,  and  at  first  the  abundance  of  firewood  and  later 
the  use  of  coal  made  the  cost  of  operation  seem  small.  •» 
At  first  they  were  built  largely  to  carry  passengers,  and  to 
supplement  canals.  Very  few  miles  were  built  before 
1830  ;  but  by  1840,  2302  miles  were  in  operation  between 
important  centers  of  population,  and  extending  from  Wil 
mington  in  North  Carolina,  with  small  break,  to  New 
York.  From  1840  to  1850,  5043  miles  were  built,  sup 
plementing  those  of  the  previous  decade  and  stretching 
over  several  distances  inconvenient  for  canal  construc 
tion,  as  from  Detroit  to  New  Buffalo  on  Lake  Michigan, 
from  Sandusky  to  Cincinnati,  and  from  Chattanooga  to 
Charleston  and  Savannah.  Up  to  this  time  little  had  been 
accomplished  in  the  West,  where  the  Mississippi  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  Lakes  with  the  Erie  Canal  on  the  other  afforded 
such  easy  access.  Moreover,  the  experiences  of  the  thirties 
had  made  the  holders  of  capital  more  cautious,  and  they  pre 
ferred  local  enterprises.  Even  in  the  East,  where  there  was 
the  most  surplus  capital,  several  of  the  states  were  obliged  to 
lend  their  credit  in  aid  of  such  enterprises.  During  the  fifties 
the  situation  changed.  It  had  been  proved  that  the  rail 
roads  paid,  which  canals  had  rarely  done ;  capital  was  at  the 
same  time  more  abundant  and  more  accessible  to  the  pro 
moters  of  new  projects;  the  spirit  of  speculation  revived. 
Private  corporations  were  formed  on  a  larger  scale  than  Corporations 
before,  and  investors  became  willing  to  venture  their  money 
farther  away  from  home. 


266 


NEW  CONDITIONS,   1830  TO   1860 


In  the  West  railroads  were  desired  to  build  up  the  country. 
Regions  untouched  by  navigable  waterways  had  been  left 
unsettled,  though  surrounded  by  occupied  territory.  If 
railroads  could  be  built  through  them,  settlement  would  follow, 
but  such  enterprises  could  not  be  expected  to  pay  for  some 
years,  and  private  capital  needed  special  inducements  to  un 
dertake  the  work.  Under  these  circumstances  Congress  re- 
inaugurated  the  system  of  national  aid,  but  indirectly. 
Land  grants  were  made  to  several  states  in  order  that 
they  in  turn  might  give  them  to  companies  engaging  t« 
Land  grants,  construct  roads.  The  system  was  to  grant  alternate 
sections  of  land  to  the  railroad,  and  the  government  was 
expected  to  reimburse  itself  by  the  enhanced  value  of  the 
land  remaining.  The  first  grant  was  to  the  Illinois  Central, 
and  it  was  largely  owing  to  this  policy  that  in  the  fifties 
21,424  miles  were  built,  and  that  the  West,  which  was 
almost  bare  of  railroads  at  the  beginning,  was  by  1860 
crisscrossed  with  them,  from  Oshkosh  and  La  Crosse  on  the 
north,  down  the  whole  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  with  short 
lines  in  Iowa  and  Missouri. 

This  network  of  roads  built  in  the  ten  years  before  the 
Civil  War  had  a  far-reaching  importance.  There  was  a 
southern  system  which,  connecting  with  the  southern  rivers, 
answered  fairly  well  the  needs  of  that  agricultural  region,  but 
connected  with  the  northern  system  only  at  Washington 
and  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky.  This  system  served  the 
Gulf  States  and  Tennessee  and  Arkansas  for  both  export  and 
import.  Many  products  of  the  upper  Mississippi,  the  Ohio, 
and  the  Missouri  still  sought  an  outlet  downstream,  and  New 
Orleans  was  still  an  important  port  for  the  middle  region;  but 
a  constantly  increasing  amount  was  sent  from  these  valleys 
over  the  Erie  Railroad  to  New  York,  over  the  Pennsylvania  to 
Philadelphia,  and  over  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  to  Baltimore. 
The  Lake  region  was  entirely  tributary  to  New  York,  using  the 
Erie  Canal  and  the  Erie  and  the  New  York  Central  railroads. 


Strategic 
problem  of 
communica 
tion. 


Sectionalism 
in  the  West. 


RAILROAD  DEVELOPMENT 

IX  THE 

UNITED  STATES 
1860 

______    Railroads  in  operation  in  1840 


1800 

^__    __    Proposed  Routes  for  Trans- 
~  continental  Railroads  18CO 


L     F  OF 


300          400  500 



Greenwich 


AGRICULTURE  26) 

The  great  f  ajctor  of  communication  was  dividing  the  West,  which 
had  been  so  much  of  a  unit  in  1830,  into  three  sections :  the 
Lake  region,  affiliated  with  the  Northeast ;  the  southern  belt, 
looking  to  New  Orleans  and  other  southern  seaports ;  and 
the  Ohio  and  Missouri  valleys,  the  battle-ground  of  water  and 
rail  transportation,  of  northern  and  southern  influences.  The 
division  of  the  country  at  tke  time  of  the  Civil  War  was  to 
show  that  by  that  time  iron  had  become  stronger  than  water. 

Another  dividing  element  in  the  West  was  agriculture.  Spread  of 
Throughout  the  South  cotton  culture  was  coming  to  be  every-  |jjm System, 
where  the  dominant  industry.  Along  the  rich  river  bottoms 
of  the  Tennessee  it  was  replacing  the  more  diversified  farming 
of  the  frontier  period;  it  spread  down  the  banks  of  the  Missis 
sippi  from  the  Ohio  to  the  coast,  and  up  the  valleys  of  its 
western  branches.  Cotton  culture  carried  with  it  slavery  and 
the  plantation  system.  Everywhere  the  tendency  was  to 
ward  larger  estates,  greater  investments  of  capital,  and  the 
crowding  *ut  of  the  small  proprietor,  as  had  been  the  case  in 
Virginia  and  South  Carolina,  although  in  no  other  state  even 
in  1860  had  the  process  developed  so  far  as  it  had  in  South 
Carolina  by  1830.  Everywhere  other  products  were  raised, 
but  everywhere  the  cotton  planters  were  coming  to  be  the 
ruling  class. 

In  the  Northwest  the  emergence  from  frontier  conditions  Agriculture 
was  characterized  by  more  general  diffusion  of  wealth  and  ™^j*  North- 
improvement  of  agricultural  methods.  The  successful  farmer 
put  a  smaller  portion  of  his  profits  into  the  cost  of  living  than 
in  the  South,  for  social  exactions  were  not  so  high.  There  was 
a  widespread  increase  of  comfort,  but  fewer  mansions  and 
liveried  equipages.  The  portion  of  his  profits  which  was 
dtvoted  to  business  was  spent  for  labor-saving  machinery 
instead  of  for  slaves.  In  1833  the  McCormick  reaper  was 
invented,  after  1840  its  use  increased  rapidly,  and  by  1860 
twenty  thousand  were  manufactured  yearly.  To  a  small 
extent  the  use  of  fertilizers  was  begun,  and  in  general,  through 


268  NEW  CONDITIONS,    1830  TO   1860 

the  thousands  of  small  farms  in  this  region,  there  was  a 
gradual  change  from  the  rough-and-ready  methods  of  the 
frontiersman  to  the  steady  industry  of  the  established  farmer. 
Many  settlers  proved  incapable  of  making  this  change,  and, 
selling  out  their  farms,  went  westward  and  northward  again 
to  blaze  out  homes  in  the  wilderness.  They  generally  sold  to 
newcomers  with  a  little  capital,  who  hoped  to  make  their 
profits  by  hard  work  and  greater  skill,  and  not,  as  was  so 
often  the  case  in  the  South,  to  a  neighboring  proprietor  who 
expected  to  increase  his  income  by  using  more  land  and  more 
slaves.  The  system  of  small  farms,  cultivated  by  their  owners, 
continued  to  be  characteristic  of  the  whole  region  north  of 
the  Ohio. 

The  forces  which  had  made  for  the  unity  of  the  Missis 
sippi  valley — -the  frontier  stage  of  development,  and  the  use 
of  the  great  river — grew  continually  less  important;  the  forces 
of  separation  —  the  differences  in  climate,  in  soil,  in  products, 
and  in  economic  and  social  characteristics  —  grew  constantly 
more  significant.  At  the  same  time  the  northern  stream  of 
population  flowing  into  the  Lake  region  from  the  Northeast 
brought  ideas  and  customs  differing  from  those  of  the 
southern  settlers  who  occupied  the  lower  Mississippi,  and 
the  two  streams  mingled  and  strove  in  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio.  The  struggle  between  these  opposing  forces  is  one 
of  the  great  features  of  the  history  of  this  period. 
Growth  While  a  new  sectionalism  was  being  developed  within 

trade.r0pean  the  country,  similar  forces  were  beginning  to  break  down  the 
isolation  of  the  United  States,  and  bring  it  more  in  touch 
with  the  rest  of  the  world.  The  rapid  development  of  manu 
factures  in  the  twenties  and  thirties  had  outrun  in  some  re 
spects  the  agricultural  development.  The  home  market 
argument,  so  potent  in  influencing  the  farmers  to  vote  for  a 
protective  tariff  at  that  time,  seemed  justified  by  its  results; 
the  country  consumed  almost  all  its  food  products,  and  in 
1837  wheat  was  actually  imported  into  New  York.  The 


OCEAN  TRANSPORTATION  269 

improvement  in  agricultural  methods,  and  the  vast  areas  of 
land  newly  opened  in  the  forties  and  fifties,  changed  the 
situation,  and  there  was  again  a  surplus  to  dispose  of  as  there 
had  been  at  the  beginning  of  the  century.  Fortunately  for 
our  trade,  in  England  the  course  of  events  was  different,  the 
farmers  were  unable  to  feed  the  industrial  population,  and  in 
1846  the  "  corn  laws  "  (laws  laying  an  import  duty  on  grain) 
were  abolished  and  a  free  market  opened  to  American  prod 
ucts.  The  two  best  years  for  purposes  of  trade  comparison 
are  1836  and  1856,  each  immediately  preceding  a  financial 
crisis  and  representing  the  culmination  of  a  period  of  prosper 
ity.  In  1836  the  United  States  exported  $2,561,330  worth 
of  animal  food,  in  1856,  $17,665,922  worth ;  exports  of  vege 
table  food  products  increased  from  $7, 43 1,1 19  to  $59,390,906. 
Cotton,  however,  continued  to  be  the  leading  single  export, 
increasing  from  $71,284,925  to  $128,382,351.  The  total 
value  of  exports  of  every  kind  rose  from  $128,663,040  to 
$326,964,908.  Imports  did  not  increase  proportionately, 
barely  keeping  pace  with  the  growth  of  population,  rising 
only  from  $189,980,055  to  $314,639,942.  The  greater  por 
tion  of  this  increase  was  in  articles  like  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  and 
other  things  which  could  not  be  produced  in  sufficient  quan 
tity  at  home.  The  manufacturers  of  the  country  were  supply 
ing  the  domestic  market  better  than  before.  The  increased 
commerce  with  Europe  resulted  from  the  disproportionate 
increase  in  American  agricultural  products  and  the  simul 
taneous  demand  for  them  abroad,  and  the  balance  of  trade 
thus  created  in  favor  of  the  United  States  brought  in  much 
of  the  capital  use.d  in  the  building  of  railroads  and  other 
improvements. 

This  increased  commerce  demanded  increased  means  of  Ocean  trans*, 
ocean  transportation,  and  the  improvements  were  as  great  P°rtatlon- 
as  those  in  communication  by  land.    The  building  of  sail 
ing  vessels  reached  a  level  of  efficiency,  both  for  speed  and 
for  safety,  decidedly  above  that  of  the  past.    The  Baltimore 


270 


NEW  CONDITIONS,   1830  TO  1860 


The  Ameri 
can  mer 
chant 
marine. 


clippers  were  famous  and  have  not  been  surpassed.  Their 
arrivals  and  departures  could  be  announced  with  an  amazing 
accuracy.  Of  greater  importance  was  the  application  of 
steam  to  ocean  transportation.  Although  attempts  to  cross 
the  ocean  in  ships  propelled  wholly  by  steam  had  been  made 
as  early  as  1819,  they  were  not  followed  up  at  once,  and  it 
was  for  a  long  time  believed  that  no  ship  could  carry  enough 
fuel  to  take  it  from  continent  to  continent.  By  1839,  how 
ever,  the  problem  was  well  solved,  and  in  that  year  the  Cu- 
nard  Company  undertook  a  regular  service  which  has  never 
since  been  discontinued.  Improvements  were  rapid,  and  the 
duration  of  the  passage  was  cut  down  from  the  eighteen  to 
twenty-five  days  of  the  sailing  packet,  and  from  the  fifteen 
days  of  the  earliest  steamers,  to  ten  days  in  1840  and  a  little 
over  nine  days  by  the  middle  of  the  fifties. 

Of  the  business  of  ocean  carrying,  the  United  States 
obtained  a  very  large  share.  With  the  abundance  of  timber 
and  the  long  experience  of  colonial  times,  the  American  ship 
wrights  were  able  to  produce  vessels  at  low  cost;  and,  pro 
tected  as  they  were  by  our  navigation  acts,  American  ship 
owners  were  able  to  pay  better  wages  than  those  of  other 
countries  and  yet  charge  no  higher  freights.  In  order  to  stim 
ulate  American  owners  to  compete  in  the  fast  mail  service, 
the  government  in  1845  began  the  policy  of  subsidizing  Ameri 
can  vessels  by  giving  them  favorable  mail  contracts.  This 
policy  reached  its  height  during  the  fifties,  when  the  rivalry 
between  the  American  Collins  line  and  the  English  Cunarders 
attracted  world- wide  attention;  but  with  the  failure  of 
the  Collins  line  through  marine  disasters,  the  whole  subsidy 
policy  waned  in  popularity.  Still  every  decade  saw  a  great 
increase  in  the  tonnage  of  American  vessels  engaged  in  ocean 
traffic.  In  1830  it  was  little  over  500,000;  in  1840  it  was 
750,000;  in  1850,  about  1,500,000;  in  1860,  nearly  2,500,000. 
The  coastwise  trade  was  also  growing,  and  the  commerce  of 
the  Great  Lakes  was  increasing  almost  beyond  computation, 


IMMIGRATION  271 

so  that  by  1860  the  total  American  merchant  marine  was 
greater  even  than  that  of  Great  Britain.  It  represented  a 
very  great  investment  of  capital,  and  great  fortunes,  such  as 
that  of  Commodore  Vanderbilt,  had  grown  out  of  its  prog 
ress.  The  anxious  rivalry  of  Great  Britain  was  indicated 
by  the  abundant  subsidies  with  which  she  supplied  the 
Cunard  line.  v 

This  vast  fleet  was  employed  not  only  in  the  interchange  immigration 
of  commodities,  but  also  in  the  importation  of  swarms  of  im 
migrants  seeking  new  homes  in  America.  Most  of  the  move 
ments  of  population  which  have  been  noted  so  far  as  taking 
place  after  the  Revolution  were  movements  of  American 
stock.  The  outflow  from  the  mountains  into  the  piedmont 
regions  of  the  East  and  the  plains  of  the  West,  the  gradual 
flooding  of  the  Mississippi  basin,  and  the  constant  rippling 
westward  of  wave  after  wave  of  population,  started  by  first 
one  and  then  another  economic  or  social  cause,  had  nearly 
all  merely  changed  the  habitation  of  the  fairly  homogeneous 
people  which  inhabited  the  country  at  the  time  of  the  Revolu 
tion  and  of  their  descendants.  Before  1820  foreign  immigra 
tion  rarely  reached  10,000  a  year,  and  this  small  number  was 
chiefly  of  English  origin  and  quickly  assimilated  with  the 
native  population.  From  that  time  on  there  was  an  in 
crease  which  continued  quite  steadily  until  the  middle  of 
the  fifties.  The  circumstances  that  caused  this  growth  were 
threefold.  First  was  the  prosperity  of  the  United  States, 
as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  immigration  grew  most  rapidly 
in  the  years  of  greatest  business  activity,  and  declined  for  a 
year  or  two  after  the  panics  of  1837  and  1857.  The  second 
was  the  improvement  in  ocean  transportation,  without  which 
many  would  not  have  faced  the  journey,  and  it  would  have 
been  utterly  impossible  to  bring  over  the  vast  numbers  seek 
ing  passage  in  the  early  fifties.  Finally,  the  conditions  of 
various  countries  of  Europe  from  time  to  time  incited  emi 
gration  and  determined  the  character  of  the  new  population. 


272 


NEW  CONDITIONS,   1830  TO  1860 


The  coming 
of  the  Irish. 


Activities  of 
the  Irish. 


The  first  important  stream  of  non-English  immigration 
was  from  Ireland.  There  had  always  been  settlers  from 
that  island,  but  to  a  large  extent  they  had  come  from  the 
north  and  were  of  Scotch  stock.  During  this  period,  how 
ever,  overpopulation,  famine,  and  constant  political  dis 
content  sent  over  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  Celtic 
Irish  from  the  southern  and  central  portions  of  the  island. 
Beginning  to  come  in  good  numbers  during  the  twenties,  they 
increased  during  the  thirties,  in  the  next  decade  781,000 
came,  and  in  the  next,  914,000. 

These  Irish  were  mostly  of  the  peasant  class  and  accus 
tomed  to  agriculture,  but  they  seldom  had  money  left  after 
their  arrival  and  were  unable  to  go  west  or  to  buy  the  high- 
priced  farms  near  at  hand.  They  engaged  at  first  in  rough, 
unskilled  labor  on  the  canals,  railroads,  and  other  large  under 
takings  of  the  period.  When  such  a  piece  of  work  was  com 
pleted,  the  discharged  workmen  often  settled  down  in  one  of 
the  towns  near  by,  and  drifted  into  the  mills.  As  they  were 
accustomed  to  a  lower  standard  of  living  than  the  natives, 
they  were  willing  to  work  at  smaller  wages;  and  gradually 
their  competition,  first  in  one  locality  and  then  in  another, 
drove  the  native-born  out  of  such  occupations.  The  jeal 
ousy  and  hard  feeling  engendered  by  this  economic  rivalry 
was  increased  by  religious  differences.  These  Irish  were 
practically  all  Catholics  and  extremely  devout.  It  was  not 
long  before  Catholic  churches  began  to  rise  throughout  south 
ern  New  England  and  the  Middle  States,  and  convents  and 
parochial  schools  competed  with  the  public  educational 
establishments  which  were  coming  to  be  looked  upon  as  the 
basis  of  true  democracy.  The  distrust  with  which  the  rigid 
Protestant  spirit  of  the  body  of  the  population  looked  upon 
the  growth  of  Catholic  institutions  was  heightened  by  the 
part  the  Irish  played  in  politics.  They  proved  themselves 
adepts  in  political  management  and  party  organization. 
Living,  as  they  did  at  first,  together  in  separate  quarters 


IRISH  AND    GERMAN  IMMIGRATION  273 

clustered  about  their  churches,  and  having  similar  interests, 
they  tended  to  cast  their  weight  on  one  side,  rather  than  to 
divide  between  the  parties.  In  the  large  ports  where  they 
disembarked  and  where  great  numbers  of  the  poorest  re 
mained,  they  soon  became  an  important  factor  in  politics. 
Politicians  bid  for  their  votes  by  favoring  appropriations 
to  aid  their  charitable  and  educational  establishments,  and 
the  Irish  Catholics  came  to  be  regarded  by  many  as  a  menace 
to  the  republic. 

In  many  places  this  feeling  took  shape  in  riots.  In  1834  Anti-foreign 
an  Ursuline  convent  in  the  outskirts  of  Boston  was  sacked  on  feelmg- 
the  rumor  that  girls  were  confined  against  their  will.  In 
New  York  and  Philadelphia  riots  were  frequent,  with  the 
fault  now  on  one  side,  now  on  the  other.  Prejudice,  however, 
was  not  confined  to  the  rioting  classes,  and  many  sought  to 
ward  off  the  danger  by  political  measures.  Neither  of  the 
great  parties  was  anxious  to  take  up  the  issue,  because  the 
Irish  had  votes,  and  because  the  majority  of  the  population 
really  took  pride  in  seeing  foreigners  flock  to  our  shores. 
It  happened,  therefore,  that  from  time  to  time  special  third 
parties  were  formed  to  secure  remedial  legislation.  Such 
factions  were  active  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York  in 
1835  and  1844  ;  in  1847  the  Nativist  party  cast  80,000 
votes  in  the  latter  state;  and  suddenly,  in  1852,  a  temporary 
lull  in  national  politics  gave  an  opportunity  for  the  issue  to 
rise  into  general  notice.  As  the  principal  basis  of  appeal 
of  the  American,  or  as  it  was  popularly  called  Know-Noth- 
ing,  party,  it  was  thoroughly  discussed  between  1852  and 
1856,  and  the  nation  decided  to  keep  its  doors  open  to  the 
world. 

A  second  stream  of  immigration  came  from   Germany.  The  coming 
It  is  significant  that  the  first  subsidy  granted  by  the  United 
States  was  to  a  line  running  between  New  York  and  Bremen. 
German  immigration  had  begun  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
and  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution  Germans  formed  a  decided 


274  NEW  CONDITIONS,   1830  TO   1860 

factor  in  the  population  of  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  New 
York.  The  stream  declined,  however,  and  did  not  become 
very  important  again  until  1830,  when  the  unsuccessful  polit 
ical  revolutions  of  that  year  sent  many  of  the  disappointed 
to  America.  They  were  joined  during  the  next  few  years 
by  greater  numbers  who  could  not  easily  adjust  themselves 
to  the  changes  caused  by  the  industrial  revolution  which 
was  then  sweeping  over  Germany.  The  fair  reports  that 
these  sent  back  encouraged  others,  and  finally  the  defeat 
of  the  revolutionary  efforts  of  1848  induced  many  brilliant 
young  leaders  and  the  more  devoted  of  their  followers  to 
come  to  the  United  States,  some  as  to  a  temporary  refuge, 
and  some  with  the  idea  of  working  out  their  political  ideas 
upon  more  congenial  soil.  It  was  even  hoped  by  many  of 
them  that  Wisconsin  might  become  a  German  state.  By 
1860  the  German-born  population  of  the  United  States 
amounted  to  over  a  million  and  a  quarter. 

Activities  of  These  Germans  generally  possessed  a  little  money,  and 
the  greater  portion  of  them  passed  through  the  coast  states 
and  sought  the  agricultural  opportunities  beyond  the  moun 
tains.  Some  became  pioneers,  and  others  bought  farms  from 
owners  who  had  become  restless  at  the  approach  of  civiliza 
tion  and  wished  to  try  their  fortunes  upon  the  new  fron 
tier.  With  the  expanding  European  market,  there  was  a 
demand  for  all  the  breadstuffs  that  could  be  produced,  and 
hence  the  economic  rivalry  encountered  by  the  Irish  in  the 
East  was  not  found.  Among  the  Germans  some  were  Catho 
lic  and  some  Protestant,  they  scattered  about  the  country 
instead  of  living  together  in  close  settlements,  and  their  leaders 
took  an  active  part  in  setting  up  and  supporting  the  public 
schools.  The  majority  of  them  did  not  take  so  keen  an  interest 
in  politics  as  did  the  Irish,  but  their  leaders,  particularly  those 
who  came  after  1848,  were  inclined  to 'do  so,  and  through 
their  German  newspapers  exerted  a  great  influence.  Coming 
into  the  northwestern  states,  where  the  population  was  very 


SHIFTING  OF  THE  POPULATION  275 

evenly  divided  between  settlers  of  southern  and  of  northern 
origin,  the  Germans  were  to  some  degree  a  balancing  ele 
ment  in  the  population.  They  sympathized  with  the  south 
ern  portion  in  their  strong  belief  in  individual  freedom,  op 
posing  the  strict  sabbath  and  prohibition  legislation  which 
was  being  urged  by  the  New  York  and  New  England  people, 
and  consequently  becoming,  at  first,  nearly  all  Democratic 
in  politics.  At  the  same  time  they  took  the  nationalistic 
view  of  the  Constitution,  for  they  had  been  endeavoring  in 
Germany  to  unify  the  nation  and  put  an  end  to  the  sover 
eignty  of  the  numerous  independent  German  principalities. 
On  the  whole,  they  were  also  strongly  opposed  to  slavery. 
Although  the  foreign  element  had  become,  by  1852,  an 
important  factor  in  politics,  the  feeling  between  the  native 
and  foreign  population  was  not  so  tense  west  of  the  mountains 
as  in  the  East.  * 

This  immigration  naturally  had  the  effect  of  causing  Shifting  of 
the  population  to  increase  with  unusual  rapidity.  In  1820  stock!*1 
it  was  9,638,453;  by  1830  it  was  12,866,020,  having  increased 
33.5  per  cent;  in  the  next  decade  it  increased  32.7  per  cent, 
to  17,069,453  ;  in  the  next  35.9  per  cent,  to  23,191,876;  and 
between  1850  and  1860,  35.6  per  cent,  to  31,443,321. 
Throughout  the  country,  population  was  shifting.  In  the 
northeastern  states  tens  of  thousands  Were  moving  west 
ward  and  were  replaced  by  immigrants.  The  growth  of  the 
country  population  halted,  and  began,  in  New  England,  ac 
tually  to  decline.  This  loss  was  offset  by  the  gain  in  cities 
and  manufacturing  towns.  The  urban  population  was  grow 
ing  almost  twice  as  fast  as  the  population  of  the  country  at 
large.  The  slaveholding  states  were  dropping  steadily  be-  Slow  growth 
hind.  Comparatively  few  foreign  immigrants  cared  to  settle 
there,  owing  to  an  inherent  dislike  of  slavery  and  of  the  negro, 
the  lack  of  manufacturing  development,  and  the  unfortu 
nate  position  of  the  small  farmers  in  competition  with  the 
large  plantation  owners.  The  drain  of  population  from  the 


276  NEW  CONDITIONS,   1830  TO  1860 

slave  states  into  the  free  states  of  the  West  also  continued. 
In  1820  the  population  of  the  slave  area  was  4,485,818,  or  over 
46  per  cent  of  that  of  the  whole  country,  of  which  number 
1,558,000  were  slaves.  During  the  next  twenty  years,  the 
period  of  the  opening  of  the  cotton  belt,  the  South  lost  the 
least  relatively,  having,  in  1840,  7,334,431,  or  43  per  cent  of 
the  whole,  the  number  of  slaves  being  2,487,000.  Between 
1840  and  1860,  the  period  of  most  active  immigration,  the 
lead  of  the  North  increased  rapidly.  In  the  latter  year  the 
slave  states  contained  12,315,373  inhabitants,  only  39  per 
cent  of  the  total  population,  and  of  these  3,954,000  were 
slaves.  To  put  it  in  another  way,  the  white  population  of 
the  South  decreased  relatively  from  about  30  per  cent  of 
the  total  population  of  the  United  States  in  1820,  to  about 
26  per  cent  in  1860. 

Far  Wesf the  T**e  contmuance  °*  tne  movement  westward  is  indicated 
by  the  fact  that  during  every  decade  the  states  in  the  Missis 
sippi  valley  increased  at  a  rate  about  three  times  as  great 
as  those  of  the  coast.  During  the  twenties  and  thirties  the 
greater  portion  of  this  western  increase  was  in  the  area  roughly 
broken  to  civilization  before  1820.  After  the  admission  of 
Missouri  in  1821  it  was  fifteen  years  before  another  state  was 
ready  for  admission,  and  then  Arkansas  and  Michigan  were 
admitted  in  1836  and  1837  respectively,  indicating  the  steady 
push  of  population  from  neighboring  settled  territory.  There 
was  beginning,  however,  a  new  period  of  more  adventurous 
pioneering,  spurred  on  by  deep-lying  motives  of  religion,  and 
love  of  excitement  and  of  gain,  which  was  to  extend  the  popu 
lation  of  the  United  States  suddenly  to  the  Pacific,  and  which 
resulted  in  the  occupation  of  the  Far  West. 

Texas.  The  first  of  these  movements  into  territory  lying  remote 

and  not  naturally  next  in  order  of  occupation,  was  that  which 
has  already  been  mentioned  into  Texas.  Here  the  excep 
tional  motives  needed  to  draw  a  population  so  far  away  were 
the  cheapness  of  the  land  and  the  love  of  fighting,  —  motives 


THE  FAR   WEST  277 

which  during  this  whole  period  were  sufficient  to  rally  hun 
dreds  to  the  banner  of  any  leader,  however  preposterous  his 
plans.  Beginning  in  1820,  this  movement  had,  by  1840,  re 
sulted  in  the  establishment  of  a  republic  whose  independ 
ence  was  acknowledged  everywhere  except  by  Mexico,  and 
whose  population  was  fifty  or  sixty  thousand.  The  situation 
of  Texas  was  regarded  as  very  important  strategically.  If 
its  ports  should  fall  to  the  possession  of  the  United  States, 
that  country  would  control  the  Gulf  of  Mexico;  if  a  great 
foreign  naval  power  should  hold  them,  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  would  be  threatened.  The  diplomats  of  England 
and  some  of  those  of  the  United  States  were  alert  to  this 
situation,  and  courted  the  favor  of  the  new  republic.  The 
South  was  anxious  to  annex  it,  because  most  of  its  popu 
lation  was  of  southern  origin  and  its  institutions  and  interests 
were  practically  identical  with  those  of  the  southern  states. 

Far  away  to  the  northward  was  another  position  of  great  Oregon, 
significance  to  the  future  development  of  the  United  States. 
The  valley  of  the  Columbia  River  was  the  key  to  the  whole 
far  northwestern  section,  and  it  afforded  a  western  outlet 
for  the  most  natural  transcontinental  route  to  the  Pacific,  that 
of  the  Missouri  River.  The  United  States  had  certain  claims 
to  this  region,  founded  on  the  discovery  of  the  Columbia 
River  by  Captain  Gray  in  1792,  its  exploration  by  Lewis  and 
Clark,  and  the  cession  by  Spain  in  1819.  These  rights,  how 
ever,  had  never  been  definitely  acknowledged  by  England,  and 
the  status  of  the  country  had  been  left  doubtful  by  the  joint 
occupation  agreements  of  1818  and  1828,  which  allowed 
the  subjects  of  both  powers  to  use  freely  the  territory  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  between  the  parallels  of  42°  and  54°  40'. 
In  the  meantime  the  great  English  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
enjoyed  almost  solitary  possession  of  this  great  domain,  and 
its  factor,  McLaughlin,  was  the  actual  ruler.  About  1835 
a  missionary  interest  began  to  be  aroused  in  behalf  of  the 
Indians  of  this  region,  especially  among  the  Methodists, 


278  NEW,  CONDITIONS,    1830   TO    1860 

Congregationalists,  and  Presbyterians.  They  sent  a 
of  families  into  the  field,  and  their  efforts  to  raise  money  for 
the  work  resulted  in  a  general  diffusion  of  interest  in  the 
Oregon  territory.  The  missionaries  encountered  an  active 
rivalry  from  the  French  Catholic  priests  who  came  from 
Canada  and  acknowledged  English  authority.  The  rivalry 
of  the  Protestant  and  Catholic  missions  developed  into  one 
of  American  and  English,  and  the  former  appealed  to  the 
United  States  government  to  assert  its  claims,  occupy  the 
territory,  and  encourage  settlement  by  giving  stable  land 
titles.  Their  cause  found  many  champions  in  Congress, 
particularly  Senator  Linn  of  Missouri,  who  was  familiar 
with  the  situation  through  the  reports  of  the  fur  traders  of 
the  Missouri.  Congress  often  discussed  the  matter  between 
1837  and  1843,  and  thousands  of  government  documents 
carried  accounts  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil  throughout  the 
country.  The  result  of  this  religious  and  political  agitation 
was  that  in  1842,  when  a  government  Indian  agent  went  over 
land  to  Oregon,  he  was  joined  by  a  hundred  and  fifty  settlers, 
and  the  next  spring,  from  Arkansas,  Illinois,  and  other  states 
there  came  groups  of  settlers  with  their  wagons  displaying 
signs  "For  Oregon."  Over  a  thousand  pioneers  passed  over 
the  mountains  in  1843,  an<3  actual  settlement  was  begun. 

The  vast  interior  valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake  also  owed 
its  opening  to  religious  impulse.  Joseph  Smith,  a  magnetic, 
visionary  young  man  of  a  family  which  had  followed  a  usual 
course  of  New  England  migration  from  Connecticut  to  Ver 
mont  and  thence  to  New  York,  about  1830  proclaimed  him 
self  the  prophet  of  a  new  faith,  and  published  the  Book  oj 
Mormon  as  an  exposition  of  his  beliefs.  An  important  phase 
of  this  new  religion  was  its  insistence  on  the  communal  life. 
There  was  at  this  time  a  widespread  interest  in  commu 
nism,  both  in  America  and  in  Europe.  Religious  sects  like  the 
American  Shakers  and  the  German  Rappists  founded  such 
settlements,  the  most  notable  being  that  at  New  Harmony 


THE   FAR   WEST  279 

on  the  Wabash  under  the  direction  of  Robert  Dale  Owen. 
Associations  to  apply  the  doctrines  of  the  French  philosopher 
Fourier  attempted  experiments  all  the  way  from  Massa 
chusetts  to  Wisconsin  and  Iowa.  Of  all  these  efforts  that  of 
the  Mormons  alone  proved  to  have  the  elements  of  per 
manence  and  growth.  Converts  were  numerous  from  among 
Smith's  rural  neighbors  in  central  New  York  and  also 
among  the  foreign  immigrants.  The  Mormons  were  unpop 
ular  in  the  districts  in  which  they  settled.  Persecution 
drove  them  from  New  York  to  Ohio,  from  Ohio  to  Mis 
souri,  and  then  to  Illinois.  Here  they  prospered  for  a  time, 
but  opposition  to  them  was  increased  when  Smith  and  other 
leaders  adopted  the  practice  of  polygamy.  After  the  death 
of  Smith  at  the  hands  of  a  mob  in  1844,  they  despaired 
of  living  a  peaceful  life  amid  a  population  of  alien  religion, 
and  decided,  under  their  new  leader,  Brigham  Young,  to  seek 
peace  in  the  wilderness.  In  1847  a  host  of  men,  women,  and 
children,  with  wagons  and  cattle,  started  westward  across 
the  plains,  and  undertook  a  pilgrimage  which  demanded 
all  their  faith.  They  halted  near  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  in 
a  territory  which  at  that  time  belonged  to  Mexico,  but  which 
seemed  so  remote  from  all  settlement  and  government  that 
they  hoped  to  work  out  their  whole  religious  and  social  polity 
without  interference  for  years  to  come.  Through  the  fifties 
their  missionaries  practically  acted  as  immigration  agents  in 
drawing  converts  from  the  East  and  from  Europe. 

The  most  attractive  of  all  the  portions  of  the  Far  West,  California, 
but  the  least  accessible  from  the  Atlantic  coast,  was  Cali 
fornia,  and  there  Spanish  settlement,  moving  north  from 
Mexico,  had  done  much  to  establish  a  civilization  and  a 
language  alien  to  that  of  the  United  States.  Still  the  hold 
of  Mexico  was  regarded  as  but  feeble.  The  infant  republic 
of  Texas  aspired  to  annex  it,  and,  with  ports  on  both  oceans, 
to  control  the  transcontinental  trade.  In  the  United  States 
there  was  great  fear  that  England  might  secure  it,  in 


28o 


NEW  CONDITIONS,   1830  TO  1860 


Historical 
accounts. 
Transporta 
tion  and 
Commerce. 


immigration. 


Know- No  th- 
ingism. 


Occupation 
of  the  West. 


exchange  for  the  heavy  debts  due  to  her  by  Mexico.  Web 
ster  considered  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco  twenty  times  as 
valuable  as  the  whole  Texan  territory.  Actual  settlement 
tagged,  owing  to  distance  and  the  difficulty  of  transportation ; 
but  many  of  the  American  whaling  vessels  which  frequented 
the  Pacific  stopped  at  the  California  ports  for  supplies ;  a 
few  Americans  settled  in  the  country  to  trade  with  them; 
and  some  of  those  who  came  overland  to  Oregon  continued 
down  the  coast  in  search  of  a  more  genial  climate.  All 
together  by  1845  several  hundred  Americans  were  residing 
in  California,  and  there  was  a  general  disposition  to  regard 
it  as  a  future  field  for  American  settlement. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

Adams,  C.  F.,  Origin  and  Problems  of  Railroads,  36-70. 
Bishop,  J.  L.,  American  Manufactures,  II,  342-424.  Coman,  K., 
Industrial  History  of  the  United  States,  ch.  VII.  Homans,  I.  S., 
Jr.,  Foreign  Commerce  of  the  United  States  (1857).  Mayer,  E., 
Origin  of  the  Pacific  Railroads  (Publications  of  Minn.  Hist.  Soc., 
vol.  VI).  Rhodes,  J.  F.,  United  States,  III,  ch.  I.  Semple,  E.  C., 
American  History  and  its  Geographic  Conditions,  246-273,  337-390. 
Smith,  T.  C.,  Parties  and  Slavery,  1-109.  Spears,  J.  R.,  American 
Merchant  Marine,  chs.  IX,  XI-XV. 

Bromwell,  W.  J . ,  History  of  Immigration  (with  statistics) .  Byrne, 
S. ,  Irish  Emigration  to  the  United  States.  Faust,  The  German  Element 
in  the  United  States,  chs.  15,  16.  Sartorius,  A.,  Baron  von  Walter- 
hausen,  Die  Zukunft  des  Deutschthums  in  der  Vereinigten  Staaten  wn 
Amerika.  Smith,  R.  M.,  Emigration  and  Immigration,  chs.  Ill- VIII. 

Lee,  J.  H.,  The  Origin  and  Progress  of  the  American  Party. 
Schmeckebier,  L.  F.,  History  of  the  Know-Nothing  Party  in  Maryland 
(Johns  Hopkins  Historical  Studies,  XVII,  nos.  4,  5).  Seisca,  L.  D., 
Political  Natimsm  in  the  State  of  New  York  (Columbia  Univ.  Studies 
in  Hist.,  vol.  XIII,  no.  2).  Stickney,  C.,  Know-Nothingism  in 
Rhode  Island  (Brown  University  Historical  Seminary,  Papers}. 

Bancroft,  H.  H.,  Oregon.  Coman,  K.,  Economic  Beginnings  of 
the  Far  West.  Garrison,  Westward  Extension,  3-43.  Linn,  W.  A., 
Story  of  the  Mormons.  Royce,  J.,  California,  ch.  III. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
INTELLECTUAL  AND  MORAL  RENAISSANCE 

THE  intellectual  activity  of  the  period  1830  to  1860  was  as  intellectual 
remarkable  as  the  economic,  and  was  inseparably  inter-  Newspapers, 
woven  with  it.  The  development  of  a  real  and  widespread 
democracy  demanded  an  adaptation  of  the  newspaper  to  the 
new  circumstances,  but  without  the  progress  of  transporta 
tion  facilities  this  would  have  been  almost  impossible.  Every 
improvement  in  communication  meant  the  more  rapid  and 
more  complete  diffusion  of  news,  and  finally  the  invention 
of  the  electric  telegraph,  first  used  in  1844,  enabled  the  voters, 
from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other,  to  read  the  same 
news  at  the  same  time  and  to  vote  with  an  approximately 
equal  knowledge  of  each  public  question.  The  greater  ease 
in  transmitting  news  decreased  the  importance  of  the  Wash 
ington  newspapers,  for  the  metropolitan  dailies  began  to 
keep  correspondents  in  the  capital,  with  whom  they  could 
communicate  constantly.  In  1857  New  York  had  so  far 
succeeded  to  the  position  of  news  center,  that  the  practice 
of  having  an  officially  recognized  government  organ  at 
Washington  was  brought  to  an  end.  The  new  city  papers 
were  more  independent  than  the  Washington  presses  had 
been,  which  were  dependent  on  government  printing  for  their 
profits.  The  New  York  Sun  led  the  way  in  endeavoring  to 
support  itself  by  selling  its  copies  cheaply,  amusing  its  readers, 
and  so  increasing  its  circulation.  The  Herald,  under  the 
editorship  of  the  astute  James  Gordon  Bennett,  quickly 
adopted  the  new  practice,  and  the  Tribune,  edited  by  Horace 
Greeley,  and  many  others  followed.  In  the  place  of  the  old 
advertising  sheet  with  a  few  antiquated  letters  and  verbose 

281 


282       INTELLECTUAL  AND   MORAL   RENAISSANCE 


Movement  of 
thought. 


Foreign  in 
fluences. 


editorials  written  by  an  editor  looking  for  some  petty  office  as 
a  reward  of  his  party  faithfulness,  came  a  paper  with  news 
columns  most  prominent,  often  with  sensational  headings  and 
"faked"  stories,  and  with  a  page  of  short,  crisp  editorials 
written  by  men  whose  business  and  social  prestige  was  too 
great  to  allow  them  to  accept  ordinary  government  appoint 
ments.  Unlike  the  editors  of  to-day,  most  of  those  at  this 
period  owned  their  papers  and  were  therefore  their  own  mas 
ters,  and  they  exerted  a  greater  personal  influence  than  either 
their  predecessors  or  their  successors. 

The  press  was  an  instrument  necessary  to  the  existence 
of  democracy  at  the  time,  like  the  party  organization  and  the 
spoils  system.  Other  intellectual  movements  were  in  prog 
ress  which  were  to  do  much  to  determine  the  direction 
in  which  the  ruling  democracy  should  move.  American 
thinkers  and  writers  were  in  intellectual  communion  with  the 
wisest  and  best  in  Europe,  and  were  making  contributions 
of  their  own  to  literature  and  science  and  art.  America 
began  to  count  in  the  world  of  thought.  The  newspapers 
were  but  one  of  the  agencies  by  which  this  intellectual  activ 
ity  was  diffused  among  the  people. 

Before  the  Revolution,  American  architecture  had  fol 
lowed  the  English,  and  the  finest  buildings  were  of  the 
Georgian  style.  There  followed  a  period  when  French  in 
fluence  combined  with  a  democratic  reverence  for  the  re 
publics  of  the  past  to  give  a  classical  tone  to  American  taste, 
and  a  Greek  portico  was  considered  a  necessity  for  a  patriotic 
dwelling  or  public  building.  To  the  people  of  this  new  genera 
tion,  with  their  minds  stimulated  by  the  more  subtle  philos 
ophy  of  the  Germans  and  with  Goethe  as  an  inspiration,  the 
beauties  of  Italy  particularly  appealed.  The  steamship  made 
European  travel  for  the  first  time  a  customary  pleasure,  and 
while  the  fashionable  began  to  seek  Paris  during  the  later 
fifties,  it  was  Rome  that  drew  the  more  influential.  Here  the 
sculptors  Crawford  and  Story  worked,  Hawthorne  drew  in- 


INTELLECTUAL  AWAKENING  283 

spiration  for  his  Marble  Faun,  and  Margaret  Fuller  lived  and 
married.  The  American  architecture  of  the  period  bears 
the  stamp  of  Italian  influence,  and  American  life  was  en 
riched  by  a  transfusion  of  Italian  beauty.  As  in  art,  so  in 
literature,  with  eyes  newly  opened  to  the  beauties  of  the 
world,  the  thinkers  of  the  time  joyed  in  the  delightful  task  of 
putting  their  thoughts  into  attractive  and  appropriate  form, 
no  longer  satisfied  with  the  mechanical  outline  and  pedantic 
diction  of  their  ancestors. 

This  awakening  had  been  felt  first  in  the  Middle  States  Midd'u. 
about  the  beginning  of  the  century.  The  writings  of  Charles  States> 
Brockden  Brown,  James  Fenimore  Couper,  and  Washington 
Irving  combined  English  traditions  with  a  racy  and  daring 
Americanism.  In  the  period  under  review  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  were  the  leading  centers  of  publication  in  the 
country,  and  Harper's  Magazine,  of  the  former  city,  brought 
together  contributors  from  all  over  the  United  States  and 
England,  and  enjoyed  a  national  circulation.  In  1855  Walt 
Whitman  brought  out  his  Leaves  of  Grass,  which  marked  a 
sharp  severance  from  European  influence  and  did  much  to 
increase  the  self-confidence  of  American  writers. 

In  the  South  the  University  of  Virginia,  founded  under  The  Soutu, 
the  direction  of  Jefferson  and  opened  in  1825,  more  nearly 
approached  the  European  idea  of  such  an  institution 
than  any  other  in  America.  Some  of  the  professors  were 
brought  over  from  Europe,  its  students  came  from  all 
parts  of  the  South,  and  it  did  much  to  stimulate  and  unify 
the  thought  of  the  whole  region.  One  of  its  students  was 
Edgar  Allan  Poe,  whose  lyric  verse  and  short  stories  were 
more  widely  read  on  the  continent  of  Europe  than  the  work 
of  any  other  American.  At  the  same  time  Audubon  was 
receiving  universal  recognition  for  his  scientific  studies 
of  bird  life.  Charleston  and  Richmond  were  literary  centers 
and  the  Literary  Messenger  of  the  latter  city  enjoyed  a 
substantial  reputation.  The  bulk  of  the  intellectual  activity 


284       INTELLECTUAL  AND   MORAL  RENAISSANCE 


The  New 
England 
renaissance. 


The  New 
England 
conscience. 


of  the  South,  however,  was  devoted  to  political  questions,  and 
found  expression  in  the  work  of  her  orators  and  political 
pamphleteers. 

The  changes  in  intellectual  and  moral  concepts  most  sig 
nificant  in  their  bearing  on  the  history  of-the  period  were  those 
taking  place  among  the  New  England  population,  which  by  this 
time  stretched  far  to  the  westward,  and  was  particularly  strong 
in  central  New  York  and  northeastern  Ohio.  The  bonds 
which  during  the  colonial  period  and  afterward  had  confined 
the  virile  minds  of  the  people  within  the  strict  limits  of  ortho 
doxy,  were  broken,  and  freedom  of  thought  was  established. 
So  great  and  genuine  was  the  emancipation  that  there  was  a 
short  period  of  chaos,  such  as  always  comes  when  barriers 
are  removed,  and  all  kinds  of  fantastic  theories  of  salvation, 
of  habits  of  life,  and  of  manners  of  dress  were  indulged  in. 
With  the  idea  that  mental  and  manual  labor  should  be  used 
conjointly,  Brook  Farm  was  founded;  and  there  numbers 
of  the  most  brilliant  figures  in  the  history  of  the  generation 
lived  for  a  few  years,  vainly  endeavoring  to  practice  com 
munism,  but  actually  giving  one  another  the  stimulus  of 
coeducation  under  ideal  conditions.  It  was  the  era  of  Tran 
scendentalism,  of  the  New  England  renaissance,  when  long 
haired  men  and  short-haired  women  lived  in  an  atmosphere 
of  idealism  and  of  youth. 

With  all  their  new-found  joy  of  living  and  daring  accept 
ance  of  new  ideas,  they  could  not  free  themselves  from  those 
deep-lying  characteristics  which  had  been  bred  of  two  cen 
turies  of  New  England  life.  Most  of  the  leaders  in  the  new 
movements  came  of  ministerial  stock,  many  counted  seven 
generations  of  ministers  in  direct  male  line,  and  the  minis 
terial  instinct  remained.  They  might  believe  things  different 
from  what  their  fathers  had,  they  might  change  their  beliefs 
from  time  to  time,  but  everything  that  they  did  believe  they 
supported  with  all  the  dogmatic  exclusiveness  of  the  veriest 
Puritans.  If  they  accepted  a  belief  in  vegetarianism,  they 


EDUCATION  285 

thereupon  denounced  the  consumption  of  meat  by  any  one 
at  any  time  as  not  only  injurious  but  sinful,  and  set  about 
vigorously  to  convert  all  men  to  their  doctrine.  Every  new 
fad  became  with  them  a  religion,  demanding,  not  silent 
passive  devotion,  but  active  proselyting  energy.  Few  were 
content,  like  Hawthorne,  to  practice  literature  for  its  own 
sake ;  the  majority  regarded  their  skill  in  writing  or  in  art 
only  as  an  instrument  useful  in  bringing  others  to  their  ideas. 

The  predominant  note  in  all  their  creeds  was  the  equal-  The  doctrine 
ity  of  all  men,  and  their  capacity  for  infinite  improvement,  brotherhood 
The  Puritan  conception  of  the  un worthiness  of  man  in  the  and  equality, 
sight  of  God  had  gradually  yielded  to  the  democratic  condi 
tions  of  American  life  and  the  religious  attacks  of  the  Uni 
tarians,  until  all  denominations  began  to  point  out  that  at 
least  man  was  God's  noblest  work ;  many  of  the  radicals 
accepted  Emerson's  position  that  man  has  something  of  the 
divine  within  him,  and  consequently  the  possibility  of  mak 
ing  himself  at  one  with  God.  The  very  complete  attainment 
of  political  equality  left  comparatively  little  to  be  accom 
plished  in  that  direction,  and  the  New  England  crusaders 
turned  their  chief  attention  to  obtaining  economic  and  social 
equality.  This  period  was  marked  throughout  the  European 
world  by  great  movements  for  social  regeneration,  and  the 
local  developments  in  America  and  the  general  activity  of 
European  thought  interacted  to  spur  one  another  on. 

One  of  the  fundamental  social  movements  of  the  period  Free  public 
was  the  establishment  of  free  public  education  under  state  educatlon- 
control.     The  progress   of  education,   particularly  elemen 
tary  education,  had  not  kept  pace  with  the  general  develop 
ment  of  the  country.     It  was  not  only  inadequate,  because 
the  community  had  not  become  fully  awake  to  the  responsi 
bility  of  the  whole  people  for  the  education  of  all  children, 
but  it  was  undemocratic,  because  even  in  schools  where  the 
education  of  the  poor  was  provided  for,  the  well-to-do  paid 
fees,  and  their  children  looked  upon  the  othtrs  as  paupers. 


286       INTELLECTUAL  AND  MORAL   RENAISSANCE 

From  about  1820  these  conditions  excited  attention  and 
controversy.  It  was  a  subject  which  had  to  be  fought  out 
separately  in  every  state.  In  New  York,  De  Witt  Clinton 
urged  the  legislature  to  action  as  early  as  1826,  and  the 
"Lancastrian  System"  was  established,  which  was  not  in 
itself  successful,  but  afforded  a  basis  upon  which,  during 
the  thirties,  a  successful  scheme  was  founded.  In  Penn 
sylvania,  the  young  Vermont  lawyer  and  Antimasonic 
leader,  Thaddeus  Stevens,  secured  in  1834  the  passage  of  a 
bill,  not  entirely  satisfactory,  but  still  marking  progress. 
During  the  debate  he  made  a  brilliant  speech  in  which  he 
defended  the  taxing  of  those  without  children  for  the  educa 
tion  of  the  children  of  others:  "Inasmuch  as  it  perpetuates 
the  government  and  insures  the  due  administration  of  the 
laws  under  which  they  live,  and  by  which  their  lives  and 
property  are  protected."  The  most  notable  figure  in  the 
whole  movement  was  that  of  Horace  Mann,  who  in  1837 
became  first  secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of 
Education.  His  reports  discussed  the  fundamental  prin 
ciples  of  education  as  a  science,  a  profession,  and  a  bulwark 
of  the  state.  By  1860  the  principle  of  free  public  education 
had  been  accepted  by  nearly  all  the  northern  states  and  by 
Kentucky  and  Missouri.  After  some  additional  conflict,  the 
courts  decided  that  taxes  might  be  levied  for  higher  as  well 
as  elementary  education,  and  high  schools  became  general. 
In  1839  the  first  normal  school  in  the  United  States  was 
opened  at  Lexington,  Massachusetts,  under  the  direction  of 
Horace  Mann,  and  teaching  became  a  recognized  profession. 
Universities  had  been  regarded  as  proper  beneficiaries  of 
the  public  from  the  founding  of  the  colonies,  and  now  national 
land  grants  enabled  the  newer  states  to  establish  them  without 
delay.  The  framework  of  the  present  educational  system  was 
laid,  though  many  problems  were  as  yet  unsolved,  and  the 
actual  accomplishment  by  no  means  equaled  the  projects 
of  the  various  states  as  they  appeared  on  paper. 


EDUCATIONAL  MOVEMENTS  287 

One  of  the  characteristics  of  the  American  system  was  Religious 
the  entire  separation  between  religion  and  education.  In  ° 
New  York  this  led  to  some  controversy,  and  Governor  Seward 
declared  in  favor  of  state  aid  to  religious  schools ;  but  public 
sentiment  was  overwhelmingly  opposed  to  this.  The 
Catholics  and  some  other  religious  bodies  in  certain  states, 
therefore,  opposed  the  free  school  movement,  for  they  pre 
ferred  to  send  their  children  to  parochial  schools,  and  ob 
jected  to  being  taxed  in  addition  for  the  education  of  others. 
This  opposition,  however,  was  overcome,  though  not  with 
out  lending  some  bitterness,  as  has  been  seen,  to  the  anti- 
foreign  movement.  In  the  South  the  middle  class  of  skilled 
laborers  and  small  farmers  was  unimportant,  and  so  the 
demand  for  free  public  schools  was  less  insistent.  Public 
education  lagged  behind  that  of  the  North,  though  academies 
and  colleges,  chiefly  private,  flourished. 

Behind  this  legislation  was  a  great  popular  movement  Popular  edu- 
and  widespread  interest  in  education  of  every  kind.  Those  movements, 
who  were  too  old  or  in  other  ways  unable  to  attend  schools 
sought  other  opportunities;  and  in  many  towns  lyceums 
were  'formed  whose  members  clubbed  together  and  hired 
lecturers.  The  ablest  men  of  the  time  accepted  such  en 
gagements,  partly  because  literary  work  paid  less  than  at 
present  and  lecture  fees  were  welcome,  and  partly  through 
the  desire  to  propagate  their  views.  Edward  Everett,  dur 
ing  the  fifties,  delivered  everywhere  his  great  oration  on 
Washington  and  the  Union,  collecting  money  with  which  to 
purchase  Mount  Vernon  as  a  national  memorial,  and  en 
deavoring  to  strengthen  the  spirit  of  union.  Wendell  Phillips 
spoke  on  slavery  whenever  he  was  allowed.  At  no  other 
time  in  history  have  the  great  men  of  a  country  come  into 
such  close  personal  contact  with  a  widely  dispersed  people, 
and  the  lecture  platform  became  one  of  the  instruments  em 
ployed  in  agitating  reforms  of  every  kind. 

Another  great  social  movement  of  the  period  was  that 


288       INTELLECTUAL  AND   MORAL  RENAISSANCE 


The  temper 
ance  move 
ment. 


Prohibition 
laws. 


to  check  the  evils  caused  by  intoxicating  drinks.  During 
the  colonial  period  indulgence  in  such  beverages  was  almost 
universal.  Some  attempts  were  made  to  discourage  drunken 
ness  and  to  encourage  the  use  of  lighter  intoxicants  in  the 
place  of  spirits,  but  they  were  not  widespread  or  effective. 
In  1826  a  new  agitation  was  begun,  and  within  a  year  over  a 
thousand  temperance  societies  had  been  formed.  With  the 
new  facilities  for  communication  afforded  by  the  improve 
ments  in  transportation,  state  organizations  were  effected, 
and  in  1835  a  National  Temperance  Convention  was  held. 
The  movement  began  with  scientific  studies  of  the  effects 
of  intemperance,  but  their  appeal  was  to  a  limited  constitu 
ency  only,  and  soon  more  emotional  methods  were  employed. 
The  radical  element  gained  control,  and  in  1836  it  was  re 
solved  that  the  proper  basis  for  effective  work  was  the  preach 
ing  of  total  abstinence.  Wave  after  wave  of  enthusiasm 
swept  over  the  country.  The  "Washington  movement," 
originating  in  Baltimore,  and  calling  upon  those  convinced 
to  take  the  pledge  of  total  abstinence,  was  perhaps  the  most 
effective;  and  John  B.  Gough,  a  reformed  drunkard,  was  per 
haps  the  most  effective  spokesman,  though  Father  Matthew, 
the  great  Catholic  temperance  advocate,  rivaled  him  in 
influence.  The  lead  in  all  these  movements  was  taken  by 
men,  and  at  first  women  were  even  excluded  from  the  con 
ventions.  Gradually,  however,  women  workers  forced  their 
way  to  the  front,  as  they  did  in  all  the  social  agitations  of 
the  time. 

During  the  forties  the  movement  became  so  strong 
that  its  leaders  were  no  longer  content  with  making  a  per 
sonal  appeal,  but  sought  legislative  support.  Neal  Dow 
was  the  chief  advocate  of  this  method,  and  in  1851  he  se 
cured  the  passage  of  a  law  in  his  own  state  of  Maine,  pro 
hibiting  the  manufacture  or  sale  of  all  alcoholic  beverages, 
except  for  medicinal  use.  This  was  speedily  followed  by 
similar  legislation  in  the  other  New  England  states  except 


THE  LABOR   MOVEMENT  289 

Rhode  Island,  and  in  Iowa.  Attempts  were  made  to  pass 
such  laws  in  other  states,  and  they  probably  would  have  been 
successful  throughout  the  Northwest,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  incoming  of  the  Germans  with  their  almost  universal 
habit  of  drinking  the  less  harmful  intoxicants,  and  their  op 
position  to  laws  restraining  the  liberty  of  the  individual. 
The  latter  reason  naturally  operated  strongly  in  the  South, 
with  its  Jeffersonian  principles,  and  the  prohibition  move 
ment  made  no  material  progress  there. 

The  results  brought  about  by  thirty  years  of  effort  are  Results  of  the 
hardly  to   be  calculated.     Wine  and  spirits  were  banished  movement- 
from  the  tables  of  probably  a  majority  of  the  people  in  the 
northern  states,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  became 
total   abstainers.     In  villages  where  drunkenness  had  been 
a  common  joke,  it  became  a  rare  occurrence.     It  is  probable 
that  in  our  country  at  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War  a  larger 
number  of  persons  refrained  from  the  use  of  alcohol,  than 
in  any  other  country  in  the  temperate   zone  up  to  that 
period. 

Movements,  to  ameliorate  the  conditions  of  the  sick,  of  Labor  legisia- 
the  blind,  of  the  insane,  of  children,  and  of  dumb  animals, 
for  women's  rights  and  a  hundred  other  purposes,  vied  for 
the  public  attention.  Massachusetts  led  the  way  in  pro 
tective  legislation  for  children  in  factories.  Some  of  the 
movements  were  by  outsiders  for  the  benefit  of  the  help 
less.  Some,  like  the  temperance  movement,  combined  the 
philanthropy  of  the  merciful  with  the  strivings  of  those  per 
sonally  affected.  In  the  case  of  labor,  self-help  was  most 
prominent.  The  period  of  the  thirties  saw  the  formation 
of  labor  unions  and  the  beginnings  of  labor  journalism,  and 
of  the  effort  of  labor  to  secure  favorable  legislation  by  its 
political  influence.  In  the  midst  of  this  general  interest  in 
the  uplift  of  mankind  the  most  helpless  class  of  all,  that 
of  the  southern  negro  slaves,  was  not  overlooked,  and  the 
effort  to  improve  their  condition  was  destined  to  secure  the 


2QO       INTELLECTUAL  AND   MORAL    RENAISSANCE 

greatest  share  of  popular  interest  and  to  have  the  deepest 
influence  on  politics. 

World  move-  Like  many  of  the  other  reforms  of  the  period,  that  for 
Savery§ai  the  abolition  of  slavery  was  not  confined  to  the  United  States. 
Slavery  was  in  fact  a  system  of  labor  which  at  one  time  had 
been  almost  universal.  Gradually  the  European  world  had 
outgrown  it,  and  during  the  seventeenth  century  the  growth 
of  humanitarian  ideas  and  philanthropic  conceptions  of  the 
rights  of  man,  emphasized  by  the  American  and  French  Revo 
lutions,  created  a  distaste  for  the  institution  and  a  desire 
to  rid  the  world  of  it.  The  most  obnoxious  single  feature  was 
the  slave  trade,  and  England  in  1807  and  the  United  States 
in  1808  put  a  legislative  prohibition  upon  it,  after  which 
England,  having  thus  forsworn  one  of  the  most  profitable 
branches  of  her  commerce,  used  constantly  all  her  great  inter 
national  influence  to  extinguish  it  throughout  the  world. 

The  prohibition  of  slavery  itself  was  easily  accomplished 
in  those  regions  where  such  legislation  was  but  a  recognition 
of  its  actual  disappearance  as  a  vital  factor  in  the  life  of  the 
community,  but  it  was  a  different  matter  where  it  meant 
serious  interference  with  vested  property  interests,  or  the 
freeing  of  an  alien  race.  In  England  itself  and  in  Massachu 
setts,  a  judicial  decision  was  sufficient  without  legislation;  but 
fifty  years  of  agitation  were  necessary  to  secure,  in  1832,  the 
abolition  by  the  British  Parliament  of  slavery  in  the  West 
Indies,  and  $100,000,000  was  voted  as  a  compensation  to  the 
slave  owners.  After  this  the  movement  went  on  apace,  and 
by  1849  slavery  had  been  abolished  in  their  colonies  by  the 
most  important  European  nations.  In  the  United  States,  the 
situation  was  still  more  difficult,  because  not  only  were  there 
regions  where  slavery  seemed  the  very  basis  of  society  and 
the  slaves  were  of  a  despised  race,  but  also  these  regions  con 
sisted  of  coequal  states,  instead  of  colonies,  and  controlled 
half  of  the  Senate,  which  gave  them  a  veto  on  legislation. 
Within  the  southern  states  themselves  there  had  been 


WILLIAM    LLOYD   GARRISON  291 

a.n  active  antislavery  sentiment  from  the  time  of  the  Revo-  Antislavery 
lution,  bred  of  the  philanthropic  feeling  for  the  rights  of  XTsouth. in 
all  men  and  of  the  fact  that  slavery  became  unprofitable 
with  the  exhaustion  of  the  tobacco  lands.  This  sentiment 
received  an  almost  solid  political  support  from  the  mountain 
counties  of  the  northern  tier  of  southern  states,  and  from  the 
Quakers,  who  constituted  a  powerful  element  in  North  Caro 
lina.  In  almost  every  state  convention  the  subject  came  up, 
and  Kentucky  in  1799,  and  Virginia  in  1830,  came  within 
a  few  votes  of  adopting  a  system  of  gradual  emancipation. 
By  the  latter  date,  however,  these  fifty  years  of  effort  had 
accomplished  no  more  than  the  freeing  of  large  numbers  of 
individual  slaves  by  the  .personal  action  of  their  masters, 
and  the  colonizing  of  a  few  in  Liberia.  The  unsatisfactory 
condition  of  the  free  negroes  made  an  argument  in  favor  of 
the  continuance  of  slavery  hard  for  its  opponents  to  refute, 
and  the  rise  in  the  value  of  slaves  after  1830,  as  a  result 
of  the  opening  up  of  the  cotton  lands  of  the  Gulf  States, 
seemed  to  render  any  prompt  action  unlikely. 

In  this  situation  there  arose  a  man  concerning  whose  William 
place  in  history  students  will  probably  forever  continue  S0ny 
divided.  To  some  he  will  appear  the  chief  figure  in  the 
crusade  which  brought  freedom  to  the  slave  and  freed  the 
country  from  a  disgraceful  institution,  albeit  through  the 
throes  of  civil  war;  to  others  as  the  leader  of  a  movement 
entirely  unnecessary  and  without  which  slavery  would  have 
vanished  in  good  time  without  war  and  in  a  manner  better 
fitted  to  adapt  the  slave  to  his  new  condition.  How  much 
personal  responsibility,  however,  whether  for  good  or  for 
evil,  can  be  placed  upon  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  is  a  ques 
tion  involving  the  most  fundamental  concepts  of  historic 
development  and  of  philosophy.  In  this  age  of  humanita 
rian  reform  the  slave  was  sure  to  attract  attention ;  with  the 
growth  of  national  feeling  the  people  of  the  North  were  bound 
to  feel  a  sense  of  responsibility  for  the  existence  of  slavery  any- 


2g 2       INTELLECTUAL  AND   MORAL  RENAISSANCE 


Beginnings 
of  the  aboli 
tion  move 
ment. 


where  in  the  land ;  and  the  resulting  agitation  was  necessarily 
marked  by  the  fierce  religious  heat  and  the  emotional  methods 
which  characterized  the  generation.  Personally  Garrison  was 
an  ideal  type  of  the  reformer,  the  enthusiast  whose  mind 
sees  only  the  object  to  be  accomplished  and  none  of  the 
surrounding  circumstances  which  cause  the  statesman  to  hesi 
tate,  delay,  and  sometimes  refuse  to  act.  He  had  the  enor 
mous  forceful  nose  of  moral  leaders  like  Savonarola,  Crom 
well,  and  Pobedonostsev,  with  the  wide-cut  mouth  of  the 
orator;  but  he  lacked  the  strong  executive  chin  of  Cromwell, 
and  his  eyes  had  a  kindlier  gleam  than  any  of  the  others. 
He  held  but  one  conception  of  slavery ;  it  was  a  sin  and  must 
be  at  once  eradicated.  He  brushed  aside  all  talk  of  gradual 
emancipation ;  it  should  be  immediate.  He  would  have  no 
compensated  emancipation ;  that  would  be  like  paying  a 
thief  for  returning  stolen  property.  He  would  not  discuss 
colonization ;  for  the  negro,  having  been  brought  to  the  land 
against  his  will,  should  have  absolute  freedom  to  stay  or  to  go 
as  he  chose.  He  would  have  no  truce  with  the  supporters  of 
slavery:  "I  will  be  harsh  as  truth,  as  uncompromising  as 
justice."  So  keen  was  his  sensitiveness,  that  he  felt  dis 
graced  that  he  and  his  state  were  part  of  a  nation  permitting 
slavery,  and  in  1860  rejoiced  at  secession,  as  it  relieved  the 
free  states  from  this  iniquitous  bond.  The  Union  he  de 
scribed  as  "  a  covenant  with  death  "  and  the  Constitution 
as  "an  agreement  with  hell." 

With  such  a  creed,  Garrison  took  up  his  task  in  1829 
by  joining  with  Benjamin  Lundy,  a  veteran  Quaker  emanci 
pationist,  in  the  publication  of  the  Genius  of  Universal 
Emancipation.  The  gentle  tolerant  persuasiveness  of  Lundy 
and  the  aggressive  and  dogmatic  zeal  of  Garrison,  well  il 
lustrate  the  Philadelphia  Quaker  spirit  of  personal  reform 
and  the  New  England  determination  to  reform  the  world. 
In  1831  Garrison  independently  brought  out  the  Liberator. 
Supporters  began  to  rally  around  him;  in  1831  the  first  of 


THE   ABOLITIONISTS  293 

the  new  abolitionist  societies  was  formed,  in  1832  the  New 
England  society,  and  in  1833  the  national  society.  The 
object  of  these  societies  was  abolition;  their  method  was  to 
bring  the  matter  home  to  the  mind  of  the  public,  for  they 
believed  that  if  the  facts  were  known  there  would  be  uni 
versal  demand  for  their  solution  of  the  problem.  In  addi 
tion  to  publications  like  the  Liberator,  which  continued  to 
be  the  chief  organ  of  the  movement,  orators  were  sent  about 
to  address  whoever  would  listen  to  them,  and  the  public 
were  successfully  kept  interested.  Still  another  method  was 
to  encourage  the  escape  of  as  many  slaves  as  possible,  in 
order  that  they  might  personally  enjoy  freedom,  and  that 
slaves  might  become  a  precarious  form  of  property.  To 
accomplish  this  object  publications  were  circulated  in  the 
South,  well  illustrated,  that  they  might  appeal  to  the  il 
literate  negroes,  and  gradually  a  system  of  refuges,  called  the 
"Underground  Railroad,"  was  developed,  extending  by 
many  routes  from  the  Mason-Dixon  line  to  points  on  the 
Canadian  frontier  and  making  it  easy  for  a  slave,  once  es 
caping  from  the  South,  to  reach  safety  and  freedom  within 
English  territory. 

This  work  among  the  negroes  caused  universal  alarm  Defense  of 
throughout  the  South,  over  which  the  fear  of  slave  insurrec-  thTsouth. 
tion  hung  like  a  pall.  In  1831  there  occurred  in  Virginia 
Nat  Turner's  Rebellion,  the  most  serious  movement  that 
ever  took  place  among  the  negroes  themselves ;  and  for  this 
Garrison  was  held  primarily  responsible.  Almost  the  en 
tire  white  population  became  determined  to  put  an  end  to 
the  movement.  The  postmaster  of  Charleston  refused  to 
deliver  abolition  literature  in  1835,  and  was  in  effect  sus 
tained  by  Amos  Kendall,  the  Postmaster-General,  and  by 
President  Jackson,  though  not  by  Congress.  South  Carolina 
imprisoned  negro  sailors  on  northern  vessels,  and  when 
Massachusetts  sent  Judge  Hoar  to  protest,  forced  him  to 
leave  the  state.  Alabama  and  Virginia  each  had  a  con- 


294       INTELLECTUAL  AND  MORAL   RENAISSANCE 

troversy  with  New  York  over  the  extradition  of  a  writer  of 
articles  which  were  incendiary  according  to  the  laws  of  those 
states,  but  whom  Governor  Seward  refused  to  deliver  up. 
On  the  whole,  by  law  and  by  occasional  violence,  the  activity 
of  the  abolitionists  in  the  South  was  effectually  checked. 
In  fact  a  species  of  popular  censorship  grew  up,  the  existing 
local  movements  in  favor  of  ultimate  gradual  emancipation 
died  away,  and  free  discussion  of  the  subject  was  almost 
universally  tabooed.  The  old  defense  of  slavery,  that  it 
was  a  necessary  evil,  was  superseded  by  the  belief  that  it 
constituted  the  ideal  relationship  between  the  two  races,  that 
it  was  sanctioned  and  blessed  by  the  Bible,  and  that  the 
condition  of  the  slaves  was  actually  superior  to  that  of  the 
factory  population  of  the  North  and  of  England.  Calhoun 
wrote  in  1845:  "I  look  back  with  pleasure  to  the  progress 
which  sound  principles  have  made  within  the  last  ten  years, 
in  respect  to  the  relation  between  the  two  races.  All,  with 
a  very  few  exceptions,  defended  it  on  the  ground  of  the 
necessary  evil,  to  be  got  rid  of  as  soon  as  possible.  South 
Carolina  was  not  much  sounder  twenty  years  ago,  than  Ken 
tucky  is  now."  The  proslavery  movement  of  the  South 
came  to  be  based  as  firmly  on  moral  and  emotional  arguments 
as  that  against  it  in  the  North. 

Northern  In  the  North,  also,  the  abolitionists  met   with  opposi- 

Stionnt°  tion.  Mobs  attacked  their  orators  in  Boston  and  other' 
places,  their  schools  and  halls  were  burned  in  Connecticut 
and  Philadelphia,  and  in  1837  Elijah  P.  Lovejoy,  editor  of 
an  abolitionist  paper  in  Illinois,  was  murdered.  In  the  Ohio 
River  states,  moreover,  the  immigration  of  free  negroes 
was  forbidden,  and  "black  laws,"  based  upon  the  inequality 
of  the  negro,  were  passed.  Here,  however,  persecution  rather 
added  to  the  strength  of  the  abolitionists  than  stayed  their 
efforts.  Many  became  interested  who  were  not  so  extreme 
as  were  the  original  leaders.  Garrison  held:  "The  ballot 
box  is  not  an  antislavery,  but  a  proslavery,  argument  so  long 


THE  PROSLAVERY   MOVEMENT  295 

as  it  is  surrounded  by  the  United  States  Constitution,  which 
forbids  all  approach  to  it  except  on  condition  that  the  voter 
shall  surrender  fugitive  slaves  —  suppress  negro  insurrec 
tions  —  sustain  a  piratical  representation  in  Congress,  and 
regard  manstealers  as  equally  eligible  with  the  truest  friends 
of  freedom  and  equality  to  any  or  all  the  offices  under  the 
United  States  government."  Many  abolitionists,  however, 
believed  that  political  agitation  should  not  be  neglected. 
In  1837  the  national  society  divided  on  this  question.  The 
political  wing,  under  the  presidency  of  James  G.  Birney, 
formed  the  Liberty  party,  and  presented  the  issue  to  the 
electorate.  While  they  desired  immediate  abolition,  they 
were  willing  to  fight  for  even  small  gains.  Their  first  ob 
ject  was  to  secure  abolition  in  the  District  of  Columbia, 
to  commit  the  national  government  against  slavery,  and  to 
employ  every  power  granted  by  the  Constitution  to  dis 
solve  the  institution.  While  these  powers  were  limited,  they 
were  sufficient  to  have  crippled  slavery.  Especially  danger 
ous  to  it  was  the  fact  that  Congress  could  regulate  inter 
state  commerce.  In  1840  Birney  ran  for  President,  and 
received  a  few  over  seven  thousand  votes. 

The  strength  of  the  movement  is  by  no  means  to  be  es-  The  right  of 
timated  by  this  vote.  There  was  a  widespread  sympathy  Petltlon- 
with  the  abolitionists,  though  their  methods  were  held  to  be 
unwise.  This  latent  sentiment  was  shown  by  the  manner 
in  which  their  cause  came  to  be  identified  with  that  of  free 
speech.  They  very  early  began  to  petition  Congress  to  exert 
its  powers,  wherever  it  could,  against  slavery.  These  peti 
tions  greatly  exasperated  the  southern  leaders,  who  saw  in 
this  way  abolitionist  literature  published  at  government 
expense.  In  1836  the  House  voted  that  such  petitions  be 
tabled  without  printing,  and  the  Senate  that  they  be  re 
ceived,  but  that  nothing  else  be  done  with  them.  In  1840 
the  House  adopted  what  was  known  as  the  "twenty-first 
rule" ;  that  they  be  not  received  or  entertained.  Such  action 


296       INTELLECTUAL  AND   MORAL  RENAISSANCE 

was  looked  upon  as  an  infringement  of  the  right  of  petition ; 
it  excited  very  general  opposition  in  the  North ;  the  signa 
tures  on  abolitionist  petitions  increased  ten  times,  rising  to 
300,000  in  1838,  and  John  Quincy  Adams  began  a  spirited 
fight  for  their  reception,  which  kept  the  slavery  question 
before  Congress  at  every  session,  until  at  length,  in  1844, 
the  House  repealed  its  rule.  The  question  of  slavery  had 
thus  been  given  unlimited  publicity,  and  on  this  one  point, 
at  least,  the  antislavery  leaders  had  commanded  the  political 
support  of  the  North. 

Attempt  to  This  entrance  of  the  question  of  slavery   into  politics 

South.  €  alarmed  the  southern  leaders  to  the  utmost,  particularly 
Calhoun,  the  most  far-sighted  among  them.  Gradually 
he  formulated  a  policy  of  defense.  Politically  his  object 
was  to  unite  the  entire  South,  so  that,  regardless  of  minor 
differences  and  party  allegiance,  it  should  stand  as  a  unit  on 
the  subject.  In  1840  he  wrote:  "I  concur  in  the  opinion 
that  we  ought  to  take  the  highest  ground  on  the  subject 
of  African  slavery,  as  it  exists  among  us ;  and  have  from  the 
first  acted  accordingly;  but  we  must  not  break  with,  or 
throw  off  those  who  are  not  yet  prepared  to  come  up  to  our 
standard,  especially  on  the  exterior  limits  of  the  slavehold- 
ing  states."  Believing,  as  he  did,  that  material  interest 
would  always  be  stronger  than  any  other,  and  that  the  South 
in  this  case  was  more  strongly  interested  in  retaining  slavery 
than  the  North  in  overthrowing  it,  he  counted  on  a  division 
in  the  North  through  which  a  solid  South  could  control  the 
government.  He  recognized,  however,  that  such  an  alliance 
was  not  sufficient,  and  was  more  strongly  impressed  than 
ever  before  with  the  necessity  of  providing  for  the  expansion 
of  slavery  in  order  that  the  balance  in  the  Senate  at  least 
might  be  preserved.  That  body  continued  to  prove,  as  it 
had  in  1820  and  1833,  the  bulwark  against  legislation  which 
the  South  opposed.  The  House  was  hopelessly  northern, 
not  only  because  the  South  was  dropping  behind  in  popu- 


NATIONALIZATION  OF   SLAVERY  297 

lation,  but  because  of  the  only  partial  representation  of  the 
slave  population.  While  it  seemed  a  hardship  to  the  North 
that  slaves  should  be  represented  at  all,  in  the  South  it  was 
esteemed  unfair  that  they  should  not  all  count,  for  it  was  be 
lieved  that  the  northern  factory  hands  were  as  incompetent 
as  they,  and  were  driven  to  the  ballot  box  by  the  mill  owners, 
who  thus  controlled  Congress  and  passed  protective  tariffs. 

If  the  northern  alliance  and  the  balance  in  the  Senate 
failed,  the  last  resort  of  the  South  was  to  the  Constitution. 
Little  was  said  of  nullification;  if  not  a  universally  recog 
nized  failure,  it  was  at  least  inapplicable  to  the  newly  arising 
problems.  Calhoun  continued  to  emphasize  state  rights,  Defense  of 
and  to  insist  that  the  states  be  left  entirely  alone  to  control 
the  domestic  institutions,  but  he  took  much  higher  ground 
than  this.  The  national  government,  he  held,  was  instituted 
for  the  protection  and  well-being  of  all  the  states.  In  partic 
ular  it  was  the  representative  of  the  states  in  dealing  with 
foreign  governments.  It  was  its  duty  to  cherish  and  de 
fend  all  the  institutions  of  all  the  states.  It  had  no  right  to 
pick  and  choose  as  to  which  it  should  further  and  which  it 
should  discourage.  Any  institution  legal  in  any  state  was 
national  in  the  sense  that  the  national  government  was  bound 
to  recognize  and  shelter  it.  In  pursuance  of  this  view  he 
called  upon  the  government  to  protect  the  maritime  inter 
state  slave  trade  from  the  interference  of  the  British  in  the 
case  of  the  Creole,  and  strove  to  commit  the  government  in 
every  way  to  his  theory.  He  held  a  position  precisely  the 
reverse  of  that  of  Birney,  who  wished  the  government  to 
exert  all  its  power  against  slavery,  and  he  sought  to  rally  the 
South  to  his  support.  Daily  these  views  made  progress. 
The  institution  of  slavery  seemed  at  stake.  Calhoun  counted 
powerful  leaders  in  the  border  states  among  his  friends,  and 
the  radical  views  of  the  Cotton  South  began  to  predominate 
throughout  the  slaveholding  states. 

Every  year   the   bitterness  of  feeling  became  more  in- 


298       INTELLECTUAL  AND   MORAL  RENAISSANCE 


Sectionalism 
in  churches. 


Rioting. 


tense;  the  great  sectionalism  between  the  slaveholding  and 
non-slaveholding  states  began  to  overshadow  differences 
between  East  and  West,  between  commercial  and  agricul 
tural  states.  On  all  questions  involving  the  status  of  slavery 
the  North  and  South  each  tended  to  become  solid.  The 
moral  aspect  which  the  question  had  assumed  naturally  made 
it  a  difficult  one  for  those  churches  which  were  strong  in 
North  and  South  alike.  As  antislavery  sentiment  grew  in 
the  North,  northern  members  wished  to  place  their  churches 
on  record  against  slavery  and  to  forbid,  at  least  church  officers, 
to  hold  slaves.  Southern  members,  conscious  that  they  were 
not  responsible  for  the  existence  of  slavery,  resented  the  in 
ference  that  they  were  sinning  in  holding  slaves,  and  adopted 
the  rising  southern  belief  in  slavery  as  divinely  ordained. 
During  the  forties  the  Baptist  and  Methodist  churches 
divided,  the  Methodist  ultimately  into  three  branches  repre 
senting  northern,  southern,  and  'conservative  border  state 
opinion.  The  Presbyterians,  in  1850,  practically  separated, 
though  they  retained  their  united  organization  until  the  Civil 
War.  Calhoun  wrote  in  1834:  "I  cannot  but  think  the 
course  the  Western  Baptist  and  Methodist  preachers  took, 
in  reference  to  the  division  of  their  churches,  has  done  much 
to  expel  Cassius  Clay  [a  Kentucky  abolitionist]  and  correct 
publick  opinion  in  that  quarter."  The  national  parties,  being 
less  sensitive  to  moral  questions  than  the  churches,  still 
resisted  the  dividing  influence,  but  their  cohesion  would  be 
put  to  a  severe  test  if  a  question  should  enter  politics  which 
tended  to  bring  into  conflict  the  material  interests  of  the 
slaveholding  and  non-slaveholding  states.  Each  section 
would  feel  justified  in  fighting  to  the  extremity  when  not  only 
its  well-being,  but  a  moral  principle,  was  at  stake. 

It  was  ominous  that  a  generation  so  stirred  by  profound 
emotions  was  also  to  a  considerable  degree  lawless  and 
given  to  violence.  In  the  West  the  pioneer  spirit  pervaded 
society,  firearms  were  commonly  carried,  and  law  was  little 


RIOTING  299 

observed  if  it  were  contrary  to  the  public  wish.  Settlers 
went  where  they  wished,  in  either  United  States  or  foreign 
territory,  and  did  much  what  they  wished.  In  the  South 
unauthorized  force  did  much  to  suppress  abolitionist  prop 
aganda.  In  the  North  the  "Underground  Railroad"  was 
legally  criminal,  yet  was  conducted  by  the  most  reputable 
men  and  women.  Religious  riots  were  common  in  New  York 
and  occurred  in  Massachusetts.  In  Rhode  Island,  where  the 
old  charter  of  1663  still  served  as  a  constitution  and  was  un- 
amendable,  dissatisfaction  took  the  form  of  revolution  in 
1842.  This  movement,  known  as  the  "Dorr  War,"  was 
unsuccessful  and  rather  amusing  from  a  military  point  of 
view,  yet  it  brought  about  the  adoption  of  a  new  and  more 
democratic  constitution  in  1843.  ^n  New  York  the  "anti- 
rent"  riots,  between  1840  and  1852,  brought  to  an  effectual 
end  the  feudal  features  of  landholding  under  the  old  Dutch 
patroon  grants  along  the  Hudson.  In  1853  the  Erie  pie  men 
caused  almost  a  suspension  of  traffic  for  two  months  at  that 
important  point,  because  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad  attempted 
to  lay  its  tracks  along  Pennsylvania's  Lake  Erie  coast,  to 
connect  its  New  York  and  Ohio  lines.  Philadelphia,  unwill 
ing  to  see  a  through  connection  established  between  New 
York  and  Chicago,  supported  the  local  authorities  who  wished 
to  profit  by  the  change  of  passengers  and  goods  necessitated 
by  the  differing  gauge  of  the  tracks.  In  this  case  Pennsyl 
vania  was  forced  to  yield  to  pressure  from  the  West,  and  at 
length  a  standard  gauge  track  was  laid  through  Erie  connect 
ing  the  roads  of  New  York  with  those  of  Ohio.  The  use  of 
force  became  a  common  method  of  advancing  causes  and  of 
enforcing  public  opinion.  It  was  viewed  with  tolerance, 
was  often  resorted  to  by  the  most  respected  members  of  the 
community,  and  was  often  successful.  This  customary 
appeal  from  lawful  to  illegal  and  physical  methods  must  be 
reckoned  with  as  among  the  significant  tendencies  of  the 
period. 


300       INTELLECTUAL  AND  MORAL  RENAISSANCE 


Sources. 


Intellectual 
activity  and 
characteris 
tics. 


Abolitionist 
movement. 


Slavery  and 
the  pro- 
slavery  move 
ment. 


Slavery  and 
the  Consti 
tution. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES 

Sources  for  the  subjects  treated  in  this  chapter,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  those  relating  to  slavery,  are  not  really  available  for  class 
use.  Among  the  best  on  the  abolitionist  side  is  Recollections  of 
our  Anti-slavery  Conflict,  by  S.  J.  May ;  on  the  slavery  side,  The 
Pro-slavery  Argument,  by  W.  Harper.  The  Papers  of  J.  C.  Cal- 
houn  (Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,  Report,  1899,  vo^  H)  illustrate  the  intimate 
thought  of  the  South  on  the  subject ;  the  Life  of  W.  L.  Garrison, 
by  his  sons,  gives  much  source  material  illustrating  the  aboli 
tionist  sentiment.  On  labor  conditions,  J.  R.  Commons,  American 
Industrial  Society. 

Hart,  A.  B.,  Slavery  and  Abolition.  Levermore,  C.  H.,  Rise  of 
Metropolitan  Journalism  (Am.  Hist.  Review,  VI,  446-465).  Mc- 
Master,  United  States,  V,  131-155;  343-372.  Sparks,  E.  E., 
Expansion  of  the  United  States,  chs.  XXVI-XXVIII.  Tucker,  G., 
Progress^  of  the  United  States,  ch.  V.  •  Wendell,  B.,  Literary 
History  of  America,  233-357.  White,  The  Book  of  Daniel  Drew, 
28-113.  Callender,  G.  S.,  Economic  History,  ch.  XIV.  Ely,  R.  T., 
Labor  Movement,  7-60.  Simons,  A.  M.,  Social  Forces  in 
American  History,  ch.  XVII.  Wright,  C.  D.,  Industrial  Evolution, 
202-269. 

Frothingham,  O.  B.,  G.  Smith.  Garrisons'  Garrison.  Hart, 
A.  B.,  Chase.  Hoist,  von,  United  States,  II,  80-120.  Rhodes, 
J.  F.,  United  States,  I,  38-75.  Siebert,  W.  H.,  The  Underground 
Railroad.  Smith,  T.  C.,  The  Liberty  and  Free-Soil  Parties  in  the 
Northeast,  1-104. 

Allen,  W.  H.,  and  Crozer,  J.  P.,  African  Colonization  (Philadel 
phia,  1863).  Ambler,  C.  H.,  Sectionalism  in  Virginia,  185-202. 
Brown,  W.  G.,  The  Lower  South  in  American  History,  ch.  I,  sees,  i 
and  2  ;  ch.  II.  Locke,  M.  S.,  Anti-slavery  in  America  from  the  In 
troduction  of  African  Slavery  to  the  Prohibition  of  the  Slave  Trade. 
Goodell,  W.,  The  American  Slave  Code.  Helper,  H.  R.,  The 
Impending  Crisis.  Nieboer,  H.  J.,  Slavery  as  an  Industrial  Sys 
tem.  Olmstead,  F.  L.,  The  Cotton  Kingdom.  Rhodes,  United 
States,  I,  ch.  IV. 

On  the  Constitution  and  slavery :  Curtis,  G.  T.,  Constitutional 
History,  II,  201-226.  Lalor,  J.  J.,  Cyclopedia,  III,  725-738. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  301 

Rhodes,  J.  F.,  United  States,  I,  ch.  I.  Story,  Commentaries,  sees. 
1915-1927. 

On  petition  and  free  speech :  Adams,  J.  Q.,  Memoirs,  IX,  X. 
Benton,  T.  H.,  Thirty  Years'  View,  I,  ch.  XXXI;  II,  chs. 
XXXIII,  XXXVI,  XXXVII.  Calhoun,  J.  C.,  Works,  V,  190- 
208.  Curtis,  G.  T.,  James  Buchanan,  I,  319-357.  Hoist,  von, 
Calhoun,  124-150;  165-184.  Seward,  W.  H.,  /.  Q.  Adams,  chs. 
XII-XIV.  Story,  J.,  Commentaries,  sees.  1880-1895. 

On  diplomacy  and  interstate  controversies :  Du  Bois,  E.  B.,  The 
Suppression  of  Slave  Trade,  sees.  68-73.  Hoist,  von,  United  States, 

II,  312-329.     Schuyler,  American  Diplomacy,  ch.  V.     Stephens, 
A.  H.,  War  between  the  States,  II,  colloquy  XIV. 

Cheyney,  E.  P.,  Anti-rent  Agitation  in  New  York.    Cutler,  J.  E.,   Unrest. 
Lynch-Law,  ch.  IV.      King,  D.,  Dorr.     Murray,   D.,   Anti-rent 
Episode  in  the  State  of  New  York  (Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,  Report,  I,  37- 
96).     Mowry,  A.  M.,  The  Dorr  War.     Rhodes,  J.  F.,  United  States, 

III,  ch.  I.     Smith,  T.  C.,  Parties  and  Slavery,  1-109. 

This  period  is  particularly  rich  in  literature  illustrative  of  its  Illustrative 
manners  and  customs.     Most  important  are  the  works  of  Mark  literature- 
Twain,  especially  Huckleberry  Finn,  giving  a  picture  of  life  along 
the  Mississippi,  and  of  Bret  Harte,  as  the  Luck  of  Roaring  Camp, 
etc.,  on  life  in  California  and  the  mines.     F.  Parkman's  Oregon 
Trail  is  the  best  account  of  the  plains.     W.  A.  Butler,  in  Nothing 
to  Wear;  and  G.  W.  Curtis,  in  Prue  and  /,  give  somewhat  contrast 
ing  views  of  New  York.     Of  course,  H.  B.  Stowe's  Uncle  Tom's 
Cabin  is  of  vital  interest  from  many  points  of  view. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION  AND   SLAVERY 

Tyler  and  THE  question  most  likely  to  develop   the  growing  sec 

tionalism  between  North  and  South,  and  to  rend  the  parties 
into  northern  and  southern  factions,  was  that  of  territorial 
expansion.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  rising  division  over 
slavery,  the  course  of  the  expansion  movement  would  have 
been  smooth,  and  Texas  would  have  been  annexed  in  1837. 
Many  in  the  North  believed  that  the  whole  Texan  situation 
had  resulted  from  a  conspiracy  to  add  one  or  more  slave 
states  to  the  Union.  While  this  was  not  the  case,  many  in 
the  South  did  desire  annexation  to  strengthen  slavery  in  the 
Senate.  As  both  parties  were  strong  in  both  sections,  the 
party  managers  had  endeavored  to  avoid  the  question,  and 
the  leading  candidates  of  both  parties  were  still  in  1844 
committed  against  it.  Here  lay  the  opportunity  of  Tyler, 
the  irregular  candidate.  He  thoroughly  believed  in  annexa 
tion,  and  determined,  from  the  moment  he  succeeded  Harri 
son,  that  it  should  be  the  work  of  the  administration. 
Delayed  by  the  presence  of  Webster,  who  took  no  interest 
in  the  matter,  he  pressed  for  action  as  soon  as  Webster  left 
the  cabinet.  Under  Upshur,  who  ultimately  succeeded  Web 
ster  as  Secretary  of  State,  a  treaty  was  arranged,  but  just  as 
it  was  on  the  point  of  completion,  a  sad  accident,  the  explosion 
of  a  gun  on  a  new  gunboat,  the  Princeton,  caused  the  death  of 
Upshur  and  other  members  of  the  administration.  The  task 
of  selecting  a  successor  was  a  very  delicajte  one.  The  treaty 
had  as  yet  been  kept  secret,  it  was  sure  to  excite  political  oppo 
sition  from  both  parties,  and  it  was  important  that  the  new 

302 


THE  TEXAS  QUESTION  303 

secretary  add  weight  to  the  feeble  forces  of  the  administra 
tion.  In  these  circumstances  Tyler  was  forced,  somewhat 
against  his  will,  to  call  Calhoun.  The  latter,  already  de 
spairing  of  obtaining  the  Democratic  nomination,  accepted 
in  the  hope  that  he  might  at  least  bring  the  Texas  question 
into  politics,  and  defeat  the  candidacy  of  Van  Buren. 

Calhoun  closed  the  treaty,  and  it  was  sent  to  the  Senate  Calhoun  and 
for  confirmation  in  the  spring  of  1844.  It  was  accompanied 
by  certain  correspondence  intended  to  give  the  grounds  for 
obtaining  it,  and  to  serve  as  an  argument  for  its  adoption. 
Of  all  the  lines  of  argument  at  his  command  Calhoun  chose 
the  most  debatable.  He  produced  letters  to  prove  that  Eng 
land  was  endeavoring  to  abolish  slavery  in  Texas,  he  argued 
that  such  action  would  endanger  slavery  within  the  United 
States,  that  annexation  was  necessary  to  the  preservation 
of  slavery,  and  was  therefore  the  duty  of  the  national  govern 
ment.  He  was  perfectly  aware  that  the  situation  was  much 
broader  than  he  represented  it.  England  was  endeavoring 
to  establish  her  influence  in  Texas.  The  Texas  cotton 
planters  might  at  any  time  form  a  commercial  alliance  with 
her,  and,  adopting  a  system  of  free  trade,  put  themselves  in 
a  position  to  produce  cotton  more  cheaply  than  their  rivals 
in  the  United  States,  hampered  as  the  latter  were  by  a  pro 
tective  tariff.  At  the  same  time  they  would  buy  their  manu 
factured  goods  of  Old  England  instead  of  New  England,  and 
American  manufacturers  would  lose  a  growing  market.  It 
seems,  in  fact,  to  have  been  love  of  their  native  country,  the 
United  States,  rather  than  interest  which  led  the  Texans  to 
desire  annexation.  If  the  treaty  were  rejected,  the  republic 
might  throw  herself  into  the  waiting  arms  of  England. 
With  all  these  arguments,  and  abundant  material  to  sup 
port  them,  at  his  hand,  Calhoun  preferred  to  place  the  whole 
issue  on  the  duty  of  the  national  government  to  defend  the 
institution  of  slavery.  He  was  more  interested  in  estab 
lishing  that  general  proposition  than  in  securing  immediate 


3°4 


TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION    AND   SLAVERY 


Public  senti 
ment  and 
Texas. 


Nominations 
in  1844. 


annexation,  and  he  was  so  firmly  convinced  of  the  justice  of 
his  position  that  he  believed  he  could  convince  a  two-thirds 
majority  of  the  Senate. 

Both  parties  combined  to  defeat  a  treaty  which  thus 
flauntingly  brought  into  politics  the  most  irritating  of  all 
questions,  and  which  would  serve  politically  only  to  reflect 
glory  upon  Tyler  and  Calhoun.  It  was  rejected  by  a  vote 
of  thirty-five  to  sixteen.  But  in  spite  of  the  defeat  of  the 
treaty,  Tyler  and  Calhoun  both  succeeded  in  the  object 
dearest  to  their  hearts.  The  issue  of  annexation  had  been 
launched  into  politics,  and  would  not  down.  Throughout 
the  West  and  South  the  Democrats  were  overwhelmingly 
in  favor  of  it.  Lincoln  wrote:  "The  Locos  here  are  in  con 
siderable  trouble  about  Van  Buren's  letter  on  Texas,  and  the 
Virginia  electors.  They  are  growing  sick  of  the  Tariff 
question,  and  consequently  are  much  confounded  at  Van 
Buren's  cutting  them  off  from  the  new  Texas  question. 
.  .  .  They  don't  exactly  say  they  won't  vote  for  Van 
Buren,  but  they  say  he  will  not  be  the  candidate  and  that 
they  are  for  Texas."  The  difficulty  in  preventing  Van  Buren's 
nomination  lay  in  Jackson's  unswerving  friendship  for  him. 
But  just  at  this  juncture  a  letter  of  Jackson's  was  published 
in  which  he  called  attention  to  the  danger  of  English  in 
fluence  in  Texas  and  expressed  his  desire  for  immediate  an 
nexation. 

With  the  influence  of  the  "Old  Hero"  thus  divided, 
the  defeat  of  Van  Buren  became  only  a  question  of  the  means 
to  be  employed.  A  majority  of  the  delegates  to  the  national 
convention  were  pledged  to  vote  for  him,  but  by  adopting 
the  two-thirds  rule  they  made  his  selection  impossible,  and, 
after  salving  their  consciences  by  a  few  votes  in  his  favor, 
they  felt  freed  from  their  instructions  and  sought  another 
candidate.  The  man  selected  was  James  K.  Polk  of  Ten 
nessee,  who  had  been  the  leading  candidate  for  the  vice  presi 
dency,  was  a  friend  and  protege  of  Jackson,  and  had  a  dis- 


CAMPAIGN  OF   1844  305 

creet  and  not  too  well-known  record  in  national  politics. 
He  was  the  least  conspicuous  man  who  had  ever  been  nomi 
nated  for  President,  and  is  known  as  the  first  "dark  horse." 
The  uninspiring  character  of  the  candidate  was  atoned  for 
by  the  vigorous  nature  of  the  platform.  The  party  de 
clared  emphatically  for  the  annexation,  or,  as  it  was  phrased 
with  reference  to  the  claims  of  the  United  States  that  the 
territory  had  been  included  in  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  the 
"  Reannexation "  of  Texas.  To  avoid  as  much  as  possible 
any  feeling  of  sectional  jealousy,  a  demand  for  the  "Reoccu- 
pation  of  Oregon "  was  added,  and  the  campaign  was  con 
ducted  on  the  plain  and  attractive  issue  of  expansion.  The 
Whigs  pronounced  in  favor  of  the  issues  to  which  Clay  had 
committed  them  during  the  struggles  of  the  past  four  years, 
and  nominated  him  as  their  candidate. 

The  campaign  that  followed  was  very  different  from  Campaign  of 
that  of  1840  in  its  seriousness  and  the  general  interest  in  l844' 
the  issues  at  stake.  Both  parties  felt  the  strain  of  the  in 
creasing  sectionalism.  Calhoun,  in  spite  of  the  Democratic 
declaration  in  favor  of  annexation,  held  aloof  with  the  votes 
of  South  Carolina  in  his  pocket,  until  by  special  messenger 
he  made  sure  that  Polk  would  stand  for  southern  interests 
in  general.  But  Polk  had  also  to  satisfy  the  northern  Demo 
crats.  A  large  and  influential  faction  were  incensed  at  the 
defeat  of  Van  Buren,  while  still  more,  particularly  in  Pennsyl 
vania,  were  afraid  that  the  victory  of  the  southern  wing 
would  endanger  the  protective  system.  The  majority  of 
the  Pennsylvanians  were  Democrats  by  inclination  and  in 
heritance,  but  they  had  also  been  the  first,  and  were  still 
the  most  insistent,  advocates  of  protection.  In  this  sit 
uation  Polk,  while  assuring  Calhoun  of  his  devotion  to  all 
southern  interests,  wrote  what  is  called  the  "Kane  letter," 
which  was  at  least  susceptible  of  being  interpreted  as  a  dec 
laration  in  favor  of  protection.  Upon  the  basis  of  this 
letter  the  Democratic  orators  of  Pennsylvania  claimed  credit 


306 


TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION  AND   SLAVERY 


Slavery  in 
politics. 


Annexation 
of  Texas. 


for  the  existing  tariff  and  successfully  called  upon  the  voters 
to  support  "Polk  and  the  Democratic  tariff  of  1842." 

While  Polk  kept  his  party  together  in  the  North  and  re 
tained  the  southern  radicals,  Clay  was  less  successful. 
Aware  that  there  was  a  strong  feeling  in  favor  of  annexation 
throughout  the  South,  he  wrote  a  number  of  letters  quali 
fying  his  general  attitude  of  hostility  to  that  measure,  by 
pointing  out  certain  circumstances  under  which  he  might 
favor  it.  This  equivocation  alienated  many  at  the  North, 
and  the  Liberty  party  again  ran  James  G.  Birney  in  order  to 
give  an  opportunity  for  those  desirous  of  expressing  uncon 
ditional  opposition  to  annexation  to  do  so  emphatically. 
The  result  was  a  decided,  though  not  overwhelming,  victory 
for  Polk.  He  received  a  popular  plurality  of  less  than  40,000, 
but  an  electoral  vote  of  170  to  105.  It  is  often  said  that 
Clay  lost  the  election  by  his  hedging,  but  this  is  not  the  case. 
Had  he  not  taken  the  position  that  he  did,  he  would,  indeed, 
have  gained  New  York  and  Michigan,  where  the  Liberty 
party  held  tjie  balance,  but  he  would  assuredly  have  lost 
Tennessee,  which  he  actually  carried  by  only  123  votes,  and 
would  still  have  been  defeated.  Moreover,  his  position  was 
probably  honest,  representing  exactly  his  opinion.  Polk's 
hedge  on  the  tariff  gained  him  little,  for  had  he  lost  Penn 
sylvania,  he  would  still  have  been  elected.  As  it  was,  the 
Kane  letter  neutralized  the  tariff  question  and  allowed 
people  to  vote  more  strictly  on  a  single  issue  than  is  usually 
the  case  in  a  national  election,  and  no  doubt  could  remain 
that  the  country  desired  annexation.  The  election  was 
still  more  significant  as  the  first  in  which  the  slavery  problem 
was  an  important  factor.  The  fact  that  the  Liberty  party 
held  the  balance  of  power  in  two  states  made  a  decided 
impression  on  the  public  mind. 

Tyler  had  been  nominated  by  a  convention  of  his  friends, 
but,  hopeless  of  election,  he  withdrew,  sought  to  identify 
himself  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  took  upon  himself 


FOLK'S  ADMINISTRATION  307 

much  credit  for  Folk's  success.  He  still  cherished  the  hope 
of  consummating  the  union  with  Texas  during  his  term, 
of  passing  into  history  as  an  augmentor  of  the  republic. 
When  Congress  met  in  December,  he  called  attention  to  the 
popular  wish  for  annexation,  to  the  danger  that  in  case  of  de 
lay  England  might  anticipate  the  United  States,  if  not  by 
annexation  at  least  by  commercial  alliance,  and  he  suggested 
that  in  the  absence  of  a  two-thirds  majority  in  the  Senate, 
Texas  might  be  annexed  by  joint  resolution  instead  of  by 
treaty.  This  proposition  seemed  startling,  as  the  constitu 
tional  argument  in  support  of  the  annexation  of  Louisiana, 
that  the  power  to  annex  territory  might  be  inferred  from  the 
treaty-making  power,  was  thus  thrown  to  the  winds.  Ne 
cessity,  however,  acted  as  a  spur,  and  on  March  i  a  joint 
resolution  was  passed  permitting  Texas  to  enter  the  Union 
as  a  statej  under  certain  conditions,  among  which  was  the 
extension  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  line  through  her  terri 
tory  in  case  it  should  be  subdivided  into  additional  states. 
Benton  and  a  number  of  others  voted  for  it  under 
the  impression  that  Tyler  would  leave  to  Polk'the  working 
out  of  the  details ;  but  the  President  acted  at  once,  and  when, 
on  March  4,  Polk  was  inaugurated,  annexation  was  an  ac 
complished  fact  so  far  as  the  United  States  was  concerned. 
Texas  accepted  the  opportunity  and  the  conditions,  and  in 
December,  1845,  ner  senators  and  representatives  took  their 
seats. 

Polk  proved  to  be  a  man  of   iron  will  and   remarkable  The  South 
fixity  of  purpose.     Intensely  religious,  he  had  unbounded   administra- 
faith  in  the  purity  and  wisdom  of  his  purposes,  and  balked  tlon- 
at  no  obstacle  to  accomplish  them.     This  devotion  to  his 
own  ideas    made   it  difficult  for  him  to  act  harmoniously 
with  others,  and,  politically,  his  administration  was  marked 
to  an  unusual  degree  by  factional  controversy;    but  his 
program  was  put  through.     His  independence  was  shown 
at  once.     Tyler  had  supposed  that  his  support  of  Polk,  al- 


308          TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION  AND  SLAVERY 

though  tardy,  would  secure  the  retention  of  his  friends  in 
office,  but  he  was  disappointed.  It  was  supposed  on  other 
grounds  that  Calhoun  would  be  retained  as  Secretary  of  State, 
but  Polk  did  not  invite  him  to  remain.  The  most  striking 
indication  that  the  new  regime  would  be  no  tame  adden 
dum  to  that  of  Jackson,  was  the  taking  away  by  Congress 
of  the  government  printing  from  Blair,  Jackson's  official 
editor,  and  the  giving  of  it  to  Thomas  Ritchie,  editor  of  the 
Richmond  Enquirer,  who  now  came  to  Washington  and  es 
tablished  the  Union.  Ritchie  was  a  representative  of  the 
Jeffersonian  Democracy,  but  he  had  of  late  been  moving  hi 
the  direction  of  Calhoun 's  views,  and  his  transfer  to  the 
capital  was  a  sign  that  the  Cotton  South  was  replacing  the 
frontier  as  the  predominant  element  in  the  Democratic 
party.  The  new  Secretary  of  State  was  James  Buchanan, 
leader  of  the  Pennsylvania  Democracy,  and  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  was  Robert  J.  Walker  of  Mississippi.  George 
Bancroft,  the  historian,  served  as  Secretary  of  the  Navy  for 
a  time,  during  which  he  obtained  the  establishment  of  the 
naval  training  school  at  Annapolis.  The  appointment  of 
William  L.  Marcy,  a  conservative  or  "  Hunker "  of  New 
York,  as  Secretary  of  War,  further  alienated  the  "  Barn 
burner  "  wing  of  the  party  in  that  state,  which  was  already 
displeased  by  the  defeat  of  Van  Buren  in  1844. 

The  free  The  domestic  policy  of  the  Polk  administration  was  over- 

ment.mC  shadowed  by  its  foreign  policy,  but  in  one  respect  it  was  of 
very  great  significance.  There  was  practically  no  objec 
tion  to  the  reestablishment  of  the  Independent  Treasury, 
and  the  management  of  national  finance  was  placed  upon 
the  basis  which  has  ever  since  been  maintained.  The  sig 
nificant  question,  however,  was  with  regard  to  the  tariff. 
Polk  in  his  first  message,  to  the  surprise  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vanians,  recommended  a  change ;  and  Walker  soon  submitted 
a  report  intended  to  furnish  the  scheme  of  the  new  bill. 
This  report  was  held  to  mark  an  important  step  in  the  prog- 


TARIFF  OF   1846  309 

ress  of  national  financial  policy.  European  economists,  par 
ticularly  Cobden  and  Bright  in  England,  had  for  some  time 
been  preaching  the  doctrine  of  free  trade.  At  first  they  had 
received  little  attention  from  men  of  affairs,  but  for  a  number 
of  years  their  theories  had  been  rapidly  gaining  adherents. 
In  this  same  year,  1846,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  the  Prime  Minister 
of  Great  Britain,  announced  his  conversion  to  the  principle 
and  took  the  first  step  in  the  new  direction  by  securing  the 
repeal  of  the  corn  laws.  In  the  United  States  the  doc 
trine  proved  really  popular  only  at  the  South.  Now  Walker 
advocated  the  new  policy,  and  his  report  was  held  to  be 
second  only  to  Peel's  conversion  in  importance. 

The  bill  framed  by  Walker's  advice  produced  a  bitter  The  tariff 
fight  in  Congress.  In  the  House,  but  one  Pennsylvania 
Democrat  voted  for  it,  but  it  passed.  The  Senate  being 
evenly  divided,  its  fate  there  hung  upon  Vice  President 
Dallas.  His  position  was  like  that  of  Tyler.  He  had 
been  nominated  to  the  vice  presidency  to  reassure  the 
protectionists  of  Pennsylvania.  Was  it  his  duty  to  vote  in 
accordance  with  the  manifest  wish  of  his  state  and  faction, 
or  to  support  the  policy  decided  upon  by  his  party?  He 
decided  differently  from  Tyler  and  voted  for  the  bill.  As  in 
Tyler's  case,  however,  his  decision  put  an  end  to  his  career. 
Pennsylvania  was  frantically  angry  with  Dallas,  with  Polk,  and 
with  the  party,  and  at  the  next  congressional  election  turned 
against  the  administration.  To  the  rest  of  the  Democracy 
the  new  bill  seemed  satisfactory,  especially  to  the  Northwest, 
where  the  increase  in  the  exports  of  foodstuffs,  due  to  the 
repeal  of  the  English  corn  laws,  was  connected  with  it  in  the 
popular  mind.  Actually  the  changes  made  by  the  tariff  of 
1846  were  not  sensational,  and  the  tariff  was  still  protectionist 
to  a  large  degree.  Still  the  declared  intention  of  framing  a 
tariff  that  looked  in  the  direction  of  free  trade,  the  fact  that 
progress  in  that  direction  continued  until  the  Civil  War,  and 
the  fact  that  it  was  another  triumph  of  the  Cotton  South  over 


310 


TERRITORIAL   EXPANSION  AND   SLAVERY 


Oregoa 


Ambitions 
of  Polk. 


the  northern  Democracy,  all  combined  to  render  it  an  impor 
tant  landmark. 

Meantime  the  administration  was  working  out  the  policy 
of  expansion  which  it  had  been  elected  to  effect.  The  first 
question  dealt  with  was  that  of  Oregon.  Buchanan  first  offered 
England  a  compromise  which  had  been  several  times  pro 
posed —  that  of  dividing  the  territory  by  the  parallel  of 
49°.  Upon  England's  rejecting  this,  Polk  expressed  his 
opinion  that  the  claim  of  the  United  States  to  the  whole 
territory  as  far  north  as  54°  40'  was  good  and  should 
be  upheld;  he  asked  Congress  for  authority  to  give  Eng 
land  notice  that  the  joint  occupancy  would  be  terminated 
within  a  year,  thus  making  a  settlement  imperative;  and 
he  quoted  the  Monroe  Doctrine  in  support  of  his  contention 
that  England  should  not  be  allowed  to  establish  a  new  colony 
on  American  soil.  Feeling  became  intense  and  the  expansion 
ist  sentiment  of  the  country  found  expression  in  the  phrase  : 
1  'Fifty-four-forty  or  fight."  In  Congress,  Calhoun  and 
Webster  united  to  prevent  any  hostile  action,  and  they  were 
aided  by  the  new  feeling  of  cordiality  between  the  two  coun 
tries  resulting  from  the  Walker  tariff  and  the  repeal  of  the 
corn  laws.  Eventually  notice  was  given  to  England,  but  in 
the  expressed  hope  that  it  would  lead  to  an  amicable  adjust 
ment  of  difficulties,  and  not  in  the  form  of  a  threat.  Nego 
tiations  were  resumed  and  in  the  summer  of  1846  a  treaty  was 
framed,  which  provided  for  the  partition  of  the  territory  by 
the  parallel  of  49°,  except  that  England  was  to  retain  the 
whole  of  Vancouver  Island.  One  portion,  therefore,  of  the 
Democratic  platform  was  executed,  though  in  restricted  form, 
and  the  United  States  for  the  first  time  obtained  an  absolutely 
undisputed  hold,  with  fixed  boundaries,  upon  the  Pacific 
coast. 

While  the  Oregon  question  was  embarrassing  relations  with 
England,  the  annexation  of  Texas  had  led  to  serious  difficulty 
with  Mexico.  That  country  had  never  acknowledged  the 


WAR  WITH  MEXICO  311 

independence  of  Texas.  She  therefore  protested  against 
the  absorption  of  territory  which  she  still  claimed,  and  with 
drew  her  minister  at  Washington.  In  fact,  however,  the  re 
public  of  Texas  had  successfully  maintained  its  independence 
for  nine  years,  and  there  was  in  1845  no  prospect  of  the  re- 
establishment  of  Mexican  authority.  It  seemed  probable, 
therefore,  that  the  protest  would  be  formal  only,  and  Webster 
in  1845  anticipated  a  peaceful  settlement  of  the  dispute. 
Polk,  however,  cherished  projects  which  enhanced  the  diffi 
culties  of  the  situation.  The  boundary  of  Texas  was  in 
doubt.  The  old  Mexican  province  of  that  name  had  been 
bounded  on  the  southwest  by  the  Nueces  River ;  the  republic 
of  Texas  actually  occupied  the  southern  bank  of  that 
stream,  while  the  constitution  of  Texas  laid  claim  to  all  lands 
north  and  east  of  the  Rio  Grande.  Congress  had,  in  its 
joint  resolution,  recognized  the  necessity  of  negotiation  to 
determine  the  boundaries  of  the  new  state,  but  Polk  was 
determined  to  assent  to  no  compromise  here,  and  to  assert 
and  obtain  the  uttermost  limits  claimed  by  Texas.  He  set 
before  himself  also  the  aim  of  adding  to  the  United  States 
the  entire  region  to  the  west,  then  included  under  the  names 
of  California  and  New  Mexico. 

For  the  accomplishment  of  these  objects  he  sent  John  War  with 
Slidell  as  minister  to  Mexico,  instructed  to  call  attention 
to  unsettled  claims  for  damages  on  the  part  of  American 
citizens  against  the  Mexican  government,  and  to  suggest 
that  a  readjustment  of  the  boundary  on  certain  terms  might 
afford  a  means  of  relieving  Mexico  of  these,  and  of  obtaining 
even  additional  sums  from  the  United  States.  The  Mexican 
government,  fearing  popular  disapproval  and  a  revolution  if 
it  submitted  to  such  dictation,  refused  to  treat  of  anything 
else  until  the  Texan  affair  was  definitely  settled.  Diplomacy 
was  therefore  at  a  standstill,  and  the  situation  grew  contin 
ually  more  acute,  until  in  May,  1846,  Polk  was  satisfied  that 
sufficient  cause  for  war  existed,  and  drew  up  a  message  recom- 


312         TERRITORIAL   EXPANSION  AND   SLAVERY 

mending  that  Congress  take  action.  Before  the  message 
was  sent  in,  however,  another  train  of  events  culminated 
in  a  more  direct  cause  for  war.  General  Zachary  Taylor  had 
been  ordered  to  occupy  Texas  as  soon  as  annexation  was 
agreed  to,  in  order  to  protect  it  against  Mexican  invasion. 
At  first  he  confined  himself  to  the  Nueces,  but  when  it  became 
obvious  that  Slidell  might  fail,  he  was  ordered  to  advance 
through  the  disputed  district  to  the  Rio  Grande.  Here  the 
army  encamped  in  the  fields  from  which  the  Mexican  pro 
prietors  had  fled,  across  the  river  from  the  Mexican  city 
of  Matamoras.  Such  a  position  was  provocative  of  attack, 
and  on  April  24  a  brush  occurred  between  the  troops  of  the 
two  countries.  The  news  of  this  affair  reached  Polk  just 
before  his  message  was  sent  to  Congress.  He  thereupon 
revised  it,  and  on  May  n  recommended  war  chiefly  upon 
the  ground  that  Mexican  troops  had  attacked  and  killed 
those  of  the  United  States,  upon  United  States  territory. 
"War  exists,"  he  said,  "and  notwithstanding  all  our  efforts  to 
avoid  it,  exists  by  the  act  of  Mexico  herself." 

Campaigns  While  the  war  had  been  brought  on  by  the  policy  of  the 
/ar<  administration,  it  was  not  expected  at  Washington  that  actual 
hostilities  would  result.  It  was  thought  that  when  Mexico 
was  convinced  of  the  seriousness  of  the  situation,  she  would 
recede  and  grant  all  demands,  even  to  the  cession  of  California. 
The  Spanish  blood  of  the  Mexicans,  however,  was  aroused, 
the  nation  entered  boldly  upon  the  hopeless  contest  with  the 
superior  power  of  the  United  States,  and,  under  the  lead  of 
Santa  Anna,  offered  a  stiff  resistance.  The  war  lasted  nearly 
two  years.  The  United  States  squadron  in  the  Pacific  at 
once  seized  the  ports  of  California,  and  an  overland  expedition 
from  the  Missouri  occupied  Santa  Fe  and  obtained  control 
of  New  Mexico.  The  main  fighting  movements  were 
two.  One  was  directed  by  General  Taylor,  who  gained 
brilliant  victories  at  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Palma, 
advanced  southwest  across  the  Rio  Grande,  took  Monterey, 


PEACE   WITH   MEXICO  313 

and,  defeating  Santa  Anna's  relief  expedition  at  Buena 
Vista,  held  it.  This  fighting  on  the  borders  might  have 
been  prolonged  indefinitely  without  bringing  a  final  result. 
Another  movement  was  therefore  proposed,  to  make 
use  of.  the  sea  power  of  the  United  States,  land  an  army 
at  Vera  Cruz,  the  port  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  advance 
directly  overland  to  the  heart  of  the  country.  General 
Winfield  Scott  was  given  charge  of  this  expedition,  and 
conducted  it  to  a  successful  conclusion.  Every  step  was 
contested;  Vera  Cruz  offered  some  resistance,  but  fell  on 
March  29,  1847 ;  the  scaling  of  the  mountain  wall  beyond 
involved  a  severe  struggle  at  Cerro  Gordo ;  and  finally, 
when  the  central  plateau  was  reached,  there  was  hard 
fighting  at  Contreras,  Churubusco,  and  Chapui tepee.  At 
length,  however,  on  the  fourteenth  of  September  the  city  of 
Mexico  was  captured,  and  the  country  lay  at  the  mercy  of 
its  conquerors. 

The  overthrow  of  effective  resistance  in  Mexico  produced  Peace  with 
utter  governmental  confusion  there.  Revolutions  broke  out, 
some  of  the  states  of  the  republic  threatened  secession,  and 
Yucatan  actually  asserted  its  independence  and  formally 
sought  annexation  by  the  United  States,  England,  or  Spain. 
In  the  meantime  the  war  spirit  was  growing  stronger  in  por 
tions  of  the  United  States,  and  the  expansionists  began  to 
clamor  for  the  taking  of  the  whole  of  Mexico,  as  advanta 
geous  to  both  countries  alike.  Polk,  however,  was  not  a  man 
to  yield  to  popular  clamor;  he  was  satisfied  with  his  original 
demands,  and  accepted  the  treaty  negotiated  by  Mr.  Trist 
at  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  on  February  2,  1848,  although  it 
did  not  include  "  Lower,"  or  peninsular,  California.  This 
treaty  was  confirmed  by  the  Senate  in  May ;  and  thus  the 
war  closed  with  a  recognition  by  Mexico  of  the  Texan  con 
stitutional  boundary  and  the  cession  of  more  than  500,000 
square  miles  of  additional  territory,  for  which  the  United 
States  agreed  to  pay  Mexico  fifteen  million  dollars,  besides 


314         TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION  AND   SLAVERY 

releasing  her  from  claims  of  American  citizens  and  assuming 
their  liquidation  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  three  and  a 
quarter  million. 

The  election  Throughout  the  war  even  more  attention  was  devoted,  in 
the  United  States,  to  the  political  problems  which  it  involved, 
than  to  the  actual  hostilities.  The  Whigs  opposed  the  war, 
and  in  1846  and  1847,  on  that  issue  combined  with  the  tariff 
dissatisfaction,  won  a  majority  in  Congress.  The  South  and 
West  showed  little  change,  but  Pennsylvania,  New  York, 
and  New  England  turned  emphatically  against  the  adminis 
tration.  The  Whigs  were  themselves,  however,  divided  into 
"Cotton"  Whigs,  who  were  in  favor  of  supporting  the  war 
now  that  it  was  begun,  and  " Conscience"  Whigs,  who  would 
declare  immediate  peace  and  confess  that  the  United  States 
was  in  the  wrong.  So  acute  was  this  division  that  Palfrey, 
a  Whig  from  Massachusetts,  refused  to  vote  for  Winthrop, 
a  "Cotton"  Whig  from  the  same  state,  for  Speaker  of  the 
House.  The  "Conscience"  Whigs,  while  intelligent  and 
active,  were  few,  and  though  Palfrey's  breach  of  party  dis 
cipline  alarmed  the  leaders,  the  more  distracting  question  was 
as  to  the  disposition  of  the  new  territory  which  it  was  expected 
that  the  war  would  bring. 

At  a  very  early  stage  in  the  war  the  administration  asked 
for  $2,000,000  to  be  used  in  negotiating  peace.  It  was  under 
stood  that  this  would  be  given  in  payment  for  territory,  and 
Senator  Branch,  a  North  Carolina  Whig,  moved  a  proviso 
that  it  should  be  granted  on  condition  that  no  territory  be 
acquired  from  Mexico.  This  well  represented  the  Whig 
opinion  of  the  South,  in  fact  conservative  southern  sentiment 
generally ;  for  it  was  clearly  foreseen  that  with  the  growing 
intensity  of  feeling,  a  division  must  occur  as  to  the  status  of 
slavery  in  such  new  territory.  The  Missouri  Compromise 
would  not  extend  to  it  unless  especially  applied,  and  there 
were  growing  indications  that  that  compromise  would  no 
longer  be  satisfactory  to  the  North,  and  particularly  to  that 


THE   QUESTION  OF  THE  TERRITORIES  315 

large  number  who  believed  that  the  war  had  been  brought 
about  for  the  express  purpose  of  extending  slavery.  These  TheWihnot 
fears  were  realized  when,  in  August,  1846,  David  Wilmot,  a  I 
Pennsylvania  Democrat,  proposed  another  proviso:  that 
in  any  new  territory  to  be  acquired  from  Mexico  "neither 
slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  shall  ever  exist."  This 
proviso  became  at  once  the  center  of  all  political  interest. 
It  passed  the  House  of  Representatives  and  was  barely, 
perhaps  by  accident,  defeated  in  the  Senate  of  the  twenty- 
ninth  Congress.  It  was  brought  up  again  in  the  subsequent 
Congress,  where  Lincoln,  who  was  then  serving  his  only  term 
there,  says  that  he  voted  for  it,  under  one  form  or  another, 
forty- two  times.  The  Wilmot  Proviso  represented  the  wishes 
of  a  majority  of  the  northern  people.  How  strongly  they 
would  press  their  desires,  and  whether,  if  confronted  with  the 
danger  of  sacrificing  the  Union,  they  would  consent  to  com 
promise,  was  a  question  for  the  future. 

The  majority  of  the  people  of  the  South  were  as  yet  will-  The  Oregon 
ing  to  agree  to  an  extension  of  the  Missouri  Compromise 
line  to  the  Pacific,  and  a  large  minority  in  the  North  were 
willing  to  agree  to  such  a  solution.  This  proposition  was 
definitely  brought  forward  in  connection  with  a  bill  to  organ 
ize  the  Oregon  territory,  which  needed  a  government  now  that 
it  was  completely  under  United  States  jurisdiction.  It  was 
provided  that  slavery  be  excluded  from  this  territory,  and  a 
vigorous  effort  was  made  in  the  Senate  to  insert  a  clause 
stating  that  tlu's  exclusion  was  made  because  it  lay  north  of 
36°  30'.  This  would  have  been  an  acknowledgment  that  the 
principle  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  to  apply  to  the 
new  annexations,  and  would  naturally  have  been  followed  by 
an  admission  of  slavery  south  of  that  line.  This  attempt  to 
commit  Congress  to  the  policy  of  compromise  failed  in  the 
House,  and  the  bill  was  passed  without  explanation.  Presi 
dent  Polk,  however,  announced  formally  that  he  approved 
the  bill  because  it  was  in  harmony  with  the  Missouri  Compro- 


316         TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION  AND   SLAVERY 

mise,  and  thus  gave  the  weight  of  the  administration  to  that 
plan  of  settlement. 

Calhoun  and  Both  the  Wilmot  Proviso  and  the  compromise  line  rested 
control™1  upon  the  view  that  Congress  had  the  absolute  power  to  con 
trol  the  territories  as  it  saw  fit.  This  view  was  perfectly 
natural,  as  Congress  had  constantly  acted  upon  it,  and  in 
particular  had  excluded  slavery  by  indorsing  the  North 
west  Ordinance  in  1789,  and  by  adopting  the  Missouri 
Compromise  in  1820.  Calhoun,  however,  contested  this 
primary  point  upon  which  both  proposals  rested.  He  had 
deeply  regretted  the  Mexican  War,  because  he  foresaw  pre 
cisely  the  fundamental  controversies  to  which  it  gave  rise. 
He  foresaw  the  defeat  of  the  South  in  Congress,  and  he 
sought  to  take  the  whole  question  from  that  body  and  find 
in  the  Constitution  a  bulwark  for  southern  rights  in  the 
territories  as  well  as  in  the  states.  He  contended  that  the 
territories,  being  the  common  property  of  the  partnership 
of  states,  must  be  administered  for  the  common  good  of  all. 
He  held,  moreover,  that  the  restrictions  of  the  Constitution 
extended  to  the  territories,  that  slaves  were  property,  that 
the  Constitution  guaranteed  all  property  rights,  and  that  it 
was  therefore  the  right  of  any  citizen  to  take  slaves  into  any 
territory,  and  the  duty  of  the  national  government  to  pro 
tect  them  there.  This  doctrine  of  "non-interference"  was 
welcomed  by  the  southern  radicals  and  grew  rapidly  in  popu 
larity  in  the  South. 

"Squatter  ^  Still  another  view  was  that  taken  by  Cass  of  Michigan, 
eign  y'  a  view  popular  in  the  new  communities  of  the  frontier  from 
before  the  Revolution.  He  also  denied  to  Congress  the  power 
to  regulate  slavery  in  the  territories,  but  instead  of  finding 
the  power  in  the  Constitution,  found  it  in  the  people.  The 
people  of  the  territories,  he  argued,  were  not  represented 
in  the  national  government;  therefore,  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  of  democracy,  they  should  not  be  governed  by  it. 
To  the  people  of  the  territory  belonged  the  right  of  ad- 


POLITICAL  PARTIES   IN   1848  317 

mitting  or  of  excluding  slaves.  This  doctrine  of  "squatter 
sovereignty"  was  calculated  to  be  especially  agreeable  to 
those  party  leaders  who  feared  the  disintegrating  influence 
of  national  slavery  discussion,  but  its  period  of  popularity 
was  not  to  come  until  some  years  later,  nor  was  it  framed  as 
definitely  by  Cass  as  it  was  afterwards  by  Douglas.  Cass 
grounded  it  on  justice  or  natural  right  more  than  on  the 
Constitution. 

Squatter  sovereignty,  or  "popular  sovereignty"  as  it  state 
was  later  called,  should  not  be  confused,  as  it  sometimes 
was  during  the  next  twelve  years,  with  the  idea  that  Congress  of  territories, 
did  not  have  the  power  to  put  conditions  upon  a  state  when 
it  entered  the  Union.  Squatter  sovereignty  applied  only  to 
the  territorial  period.  Many  thinkers  of  all  parties  and  of 
both  North  and  South  believed  as  Pinckney  had  argued  in 
the  case  of  Missouri  in  1820,  that  when  once  a  territory  be 
came  a  state,  it  entered  into  all  the  rights  of  all  the  other 
states,  and  that  such  rights  could  not  be  curtailed  by  any 
action  of  Congress  previous  to  admission;  that  the  states 
made  from  the  Northwest  Territory,  for  instance,  could  intro 
duce  slavery  if  so  inclined,  in  spite  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787. 
A  few  even  held  the  illogical  conclusion  that  when  the  people 
of  a  territory  organized  themselves  as  a  state,  and  requested 
admission  into  the  Union,  Congress  was  bound  to  grant  their 
request,  regardless  of  their  institutions.  This  question  of 
the  rights  of  states,  however,  was  only  of  subsidiary  impor 
tance  at  this  time,  although  it  was  occasionally  and  con- 
fusingly  interwoven  with  that  of  the  territories. 

In  the  midst  of  this  constitutional  discussion  occurred  Whig  and 
the  election  of  1848.     The  preservation  of  party  unity  became   conventions. 
a  problem  of  the  greatest  difficulty,  tasking  the  utmost  skill 
of  the  politicians.     The  Democrats  nominated  Lewis  Cass, 
a  northern  man  who  was  popular  in  the  South  because  of 
his  controversy  with  Webster  over  the  right  of  search.     This 
nomination,  however,  did  not  mean  an  indorsement  of  his 


318         TERRITORIAL   EXPANSION  AND   SLAVERY 

doctrine  of  squatter  sovereignty.  In  fact,  the  convention 
emphatically  declined  to  make  any  declaration  of  policy 
with  regard  to  slavery  in  the  territories;  thus  attempting 
to  keep  North  and  South  together  by  ignoring  the  great  issue 
which  was  dividing  them,  and  to  conduct  the  campaign  on  the 
old  line  issues.  The  Whigs  adopted  the  same  tactics.  Clay 
again  desired  the  nomination,  but  he  had  declared  at  Lexing 
ton  in  1847  that  the  party  should  disclaim  all  "wish  or  desire 
on  our  part  to  acquire  any  foreign  territory  whatever,  for 
the  purpose  of  propagating  slavery,  or  of  introducing  slaves 
from  the  United  States."  Thurlow  Weed  again  assumed  the 
position  of  President  maker,  and  secured  the  nomination  of 
General  Taylor,  the  favorite  hero  of  the  war,  a  man  totally 
new  to  politics,  whose  views  were  not  only  unknown  but 
undeveloped.  As  James  Russell  Lowell  remarked  in  the 
Biglow  Papers,  a  series  of  satiric  political  poems  published 
at  this  time :  — 

"Another  pint  thet  influences  the  minds  of  sober  jedges 
Is  thet  the  Gin'ral  hez  n't  gut  tied  hand  an'  foot  with  pledges, 
He  hez  n't  told  ye  wut  he  is,  an7  so  there  ain't  no  knowin' 
But  wut  he  may  turn  out  to  be  the  best  there  is  agoinV 

As  no  platform  was  adopted,  the  voter  was  left  to  conjec 
ture  as  to  what  Whig  policy  on  the  mooted  question  would 
be,  from  a  knowledge  that  the  majority  of  the  northern  Whigs 
were  opposed  to  slavery  in  the  territories,  and  that  General 
Taylor  owned  three  hundred  slaves.  Even  on  the  question 
of  the  war,  the  dividing  line  between  the  parties  was  obscure, 
for  the  Democrats  claimed  credit  for  having  fought  it  and  the 
Whigs  nominated  a  war  hero. 

The  Free-Soil         This  calm  ignoring  of  a  vital  issue  did  not  quiet  popular 

party'  agitation.     In   the   North   particularly   dissatisfaction   was 

keen,  and  a  third  party  movement  was  inaugurated.     The 

Liberty  party  served  as  a  nucleus  and  about  it  gathered  many, 

both  Whigs  and  Democrats,  who  considered  that  the  terri- 


ELECTION  OF   1848  319 

torial  question  was  the  main  issue  of  the  time.  It  happened 
also  that  the  New  York  Democracy  was  seriously  divided 
between  the  administration  "Hunkers,"  or  " Hards,"  and  the 
adherents  of  Van  Buren,  known  as  the  "Softs"  or  "Barn 
burners."  This  split  had  become  so  acute,  as  a  result  of  the 
strong  party  rule  of  Polk,  that  the  two  factions  had  for  some 
time  run  separate  state  candidates,  and  the  "Softs"  had  been 
refused  full  recognition  by  the  national  Democratic  convention. 
The  "Softs"  had  been  on  the  antislavery  side  ever  since  Van 
Buren  had,  in  1844,  declared  against  the  annexation  of  Texas, 
and  now  a  combination  was  easily  effected  between  them  and 
the  Liberty  party,  at  a  convention  held  at  Buffalo.  Van 
Buren  was  nominated  for  the  presidency,  and  the  party 
adopted  the  title  "Free-Soil"  and  an  unequivocal  platform: 
"  Whereas,  the  political  conventions  recently  assembled  at 
Baltimore  and  Philadelphia,  the  one  stifling  the  voice  of  a 
great  constituency  entitled  to  be  heard  in  its  deliberations, 
and  the  other  abandoning  its  distinctive  principles  for  mere 
availability,  have  dissolved  the  national  party  organizations 
heretofore  existing,  by  nominating  for  the  chief  magistracy 
of  the  United  States,  under  the  slaveholding  dictation,  can 
didates  neither  of  whom  can  be  supported  by  the  opponents 
of  slavery  extension.  .  .  .  Resolved,  therefore,  that  we,  the 
people  here  assembled,  ...  do  now  plant  ourselves  upon 
the  national  platform  of  freedom."  Thus  the  plans  of  the 
politicians  for  snuffing  out  public  discussion  of  slavery  failed, 
and  the  omens  of  party  disintegration  multiplied. 

The  election  resulted  in  the  triumph  of  Taylor  by  a  large  Election  of 
majority,  but  this  was  by  no  means  its  only  interest.     The   l848' 
new  party  evinced  remarkable  strength,  Van  Buren  receiving 
nearly  300,000  votes,  and  except  in  New  York  the  greater 
portion  of  this  vote  was  cast  by  single-minded  antislavery 
men,  rather  than  by  "Soft"  Democrats.     It  was  ominous  to 
note  that  this  vote  was  entirely  sectional,  being  confined  to 
the  free  states.     In  the  North  about  15  per  cent  of  the  total 


320         TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION  AND   SLAVERY 

vote  was  Free-Soil ;  and  in  eleven  states,  including  all  those 
of  the  Northwest,  the  Free-Soilers  held  the  balance  between 
the  two  regular  parties.  In  New  Hampshire  and  in  Ohio, 
they  secured  a  balance  in  the  legislature,  and  the  election 
of  two  of  their  adherents  to  the  Senate,  John  P.  Hale  and 
Salmon  P.  Chase.  The  Democrats  gained  ground  in  the 
Northwest,  partly  because  of  the  Free-Soil  vote,  but  more 
because  that  section  was  rejoicing  over  the  expansion  of  the 
country  and  the  new  English  market  for  foodstuffs.  The 
Whigs  won  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  as  a  result  of  Demo 
cratic  dissension  and  the  tariff  of  1846.  They  also  won  in  the 
South  the  states  of  Georgia,  Florida,  and  Louisiana;  but 
apparently  only  because  the  voters  preferred  a  southern  to  a 
northern  President,  for  the  congressional  elections  showed  an 
opposite  tendency,  thus  making  evident  a  sectional  feeling 
in  the  South  as  well  as  in  the  North. 

Gold  in  To  President  Taylor,  elected  as  he  was  without  any  state 

ment  on  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  territories,  was  intrusted 
the  handling  of  that  delicate  problem  from  his  inauguration 
until  the  meeting  of  Congress  in  the  ensuing  December.  In 
the  meantime  a  speedy  solution  had  become  a  practical 
necessity.  In  January,  1848,  gold  had  been  discovered  in 
California.  Up  to  this  time  that  region  had  attracted  public 
attention  chiefly  because  of  the  exploring  expeditions  under 
the  brilliant  and  popular  young  son-in-law  of  Senator  Benton, 
Colonel  Fremont.  Its  strategic  position  had  been  recognized 
by  statesmen  who  had  feared  that  it  would  fall  from  the 
weak  hands  of  Mexico  into  those  of  Great  Britain.  The 
Mexican  treaty  relieved  this  fear,  but  it  was  believed  that 
many  years  would  elapse  before  actual  American  settlement 
would  become  important.  As  soon  as  the  news  of  gold 
reached  the  East,  however,  there  began  the  most  pictur 
esque  migratory  movement  of  the  century.  The  quest 
for  gold  roused  all  the  spirit  of  adventure  that  charac 
terized  the  period,  and  thousands  flocked  to  the  Pacific 


TAYLOR'S  ADMINISTRATION  321 

coast/ by  way  of  the  long,  lazy  journey  around  Cape  Horn, 
by  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  or  by  the  dreary  perilous  path 
across  the  arid  regions.  Before  two  years  passed,  California 
possessed  a  population  of  about  100,000,  nearly  all  men, 
and  men  of  all  sections  and  all  nations,  the  majority  of  them 
turbulent  and  restive  in  disposition.  For  the  first  time  an 
American  community  had  come  into  existence  whose  economic 
life  was  based  on  mining  for  the  precious  metals.  New 
problems  had  to  be  met,  and  some  form  of  government  was 
imperative;  the  question  had  become  immediate. 

The  President  showed  himself  somewhat  jealous  of  the  Taylor's 
greater  Whig  leaders,  and  the  adviser  most  powerful  with  F 
him  was  William  H.  Seward,  the  new  senator  from  New  York 
and  the  alter  ego  of  Thurlow  Weed,  the  organizer  of  Taylor's 
nomination.  Seward  was  more  radically  antislavery  than  the 
older  party  chieftains,  and  his  influence  combined  with  the 
course  of  events  to  determine  the  presidential  policy.  The 
main  feature  of  Taylor's  plan  was  to  use  the  nine  months 
before  Congress  gathered,  in  organizing  state  governments  in 
the  new  territory.  Congress  would,  therefore,  be  confronted 
by  the  simple  question  of  admitting  or  rejecting  them,  and 
the  status  of  slavery  would  be  determined  by  their  constitu 
tions.  This  plan  was  easily  carried  out  in  the  case  of  Cali 
fornia.  Utah  applied  for  admission  as  the  state  of  Deseret, 
and  a  like  movement  was  well  started  in  New  Mexico,  when 
Congress  met  and  the  responsibility  was  shifted  to  that  body. 
The  President  advised  that  by  awaiting  the  action  of  the 
people  "all  causes  of  uneasiness  may  be  avoided.  With  a 
view  of  maintaining  the  harmony  and  tranquillity  so  dear  to 
all,  we  should  abstain  from  the  introduction  of  those  exciting 
topics  of  a  sectional  character  which  have  hitherto  produced 
painful  apprehension  in  the  public  mind,  and  I  repeat  the 
solemn  warning  of  the  first  and  most  illustrious  of  my  pred 
ecessors  against  furnishing  'any  ground  for  characterizing 
parties  by  geographical  denominations.'" 


322         TERRITORIAL   EXPANSION  AND   SLAVERY 

Opposition  The  presidential  scheme  was  received  with  violent  oppo- 

poiicyy  °r  sition.  California  and  Utah  had  excluded  slavery  by  their 
constitutions,  and  New  Mexico  was  expected  to  do  so. 
Moreover,  the  President  had  taken  a  vigorous  attitude  against 
the  slave  state  of  Texas,  which  was  involved  in  a  boundary 
dispute  with  the  national  government  over  its  western  limits. 
The  prospect  of  losing  all  the  new-won  territory,  and  of  having 
even  Texas  curtailed,  aroused  bitter  opposition  throughout 
the  South.  Quitman  of  Mississippi,  a  war  hero  and  a  "  Fire 
Eater"  as  the  southern  radicals  were  called,  said  that  for  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  the  country  the  North  was  in 
control  of  the  government.  Agitation  was  everywhere 
intense.  Mississippi,  at  the  suggestion  of  South  Carolina, 
called  a  convention  of  southern  states  to  meet  at  Nashville, 
June  i,  1850,  to  discuss  southern  rights.  Many  feared  that 
a  persistence  in  the  President's  policy  would  bring  about 
disunion.  Quite  apart  from  such  fears,  there  were  other 
reasons  why  Congress  would  not  be  inclined  to  accept  his 
solution.  There  is  a  well-grounded  jealousy  of  its  rights  which 
always  renders  Congress  suspicious  when  legislative  prob 
lems  are  handled  by  the  executive.  This  esprit  du  corps 
was  felt  to  an  unusual  degree  by  the  Congress  which  met  in 
1849,  f°r  ft  contained  a  combination  of  talent  and  reputation 
equaled  only  by  that  of  1815.  This  time  it  was  the  Senate 
which  was  the  stronger  branch,  containing,  of  the  men  who  had 
been  at  the  helm  for  the  last  thirty  or  forty  years,  Clay, 
Webster,  Calhoun,  Benton,  and  Cass,  and  of  the  coming 
leaders,  Seward,  Jefferson  Davis,  Chase,  and  Douglas.  Such 
a  body  was  not  apt  to  accept  as  final  a  solution  worked  out  by 
a  President  comparatively  young  in  years  and  totally  new 
to  the  business  of  politics.  Still  further,  it  was  proper  that 
in  such  a  case,  where  the  different  sections  were  contending 
for  so  great  a  prize,  the  contest  should  be  decided  in  Congress 
where  all  sections  were  represented. 

The  task  of  working  out   a  compromise  which  should 


COMPROMISE  OF   1850  323 

reconcile  the  various  conflicting  interests,  and  of  securing  Clay  and 
its  acceptance,  fell  to  Henry  Clay.  It  was  the  most  difficult  c 
political  task  since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution.  Just 
that  line  of  agreement  had  to  be  drawn  which  would  satisfy 
one  section  without  causing  repugnance  in  the  other,  for  it 
was  not  enough  to  secure  the  passage  of  an  act  by  Congress, 
but  it  was  necessary  to  win  for  it  the  approval  of  a  majority 
in  both  sections.  For  this  undertaking  Clay  was  ideally 
fitted.  Compromise  is  a  work  of  sacrifice,  the  slaughter  of 
ideals;  it  is  the  proper  labor  of  age  rather  than  of  youth. 
Clay's  seventy-four  years  had  been  crowded  with  political 
experience,  and  he  knew  every  pathway  through  the  maze  of 
national  affairs.  He  had  recently  become  a  member  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  and  while  his  religion  did  not  displace 
other  interests,  it  gave  him  a  seriousness  which  had  been 
somewhat  lacking  in  his  earlier  career.  The  fact  that  he  had 
at  last  given  up  his  presidential  ambition,  and  that  after  eight 
years'  absence  he  had  returned  to  the  Senate  for  the  express 
purpose  of  bringing  peace  to  his  distracted  country,  gave  him 
prestige  with  all  his  colleagues,  while  his  feeble  health  added 
a  rather  pathetic  interest  to  his  efforts.  His  intellect  was 
as  keen  as  ever,  and  through  the  entire  winter  and  spring  he 
fought  for  his  purpose  in  a  manner  which  Congress  has  never 
seen  surpassed.  His  plan  was  laid  before  the  Senate  on  Jan 
uary  29,  1850,  in  a  series  of  resolutions.  It  included  a  settle 
ment  of  all  points  in  dispute.  California  was  to  be  admitted 
with  its  free  constitution,  although  this  would  upset  the 
balance  of  the  states  in  the  Senate ;  the  remaining  territory 
was  to  be  organized  without  the  Wilmot  Proviso ;  the  Texan 
boundary  was  limited,  but  Texas  was  to  receive  $10,000,000 
practically  as  a  compensation.  In  addition  to  this  adjust 
ment  of  the  territorial  problem,  a  strict  fugitive  slave  law 
was  included  to  protect  slave  owners  against  the  machina 
tions  of  the  abolitionists;  (and  to  soothe  the  antislavery 
sentiment  of  the  North,  the  importation  of  slaves  into 


324 


TERRITORIAL   EXPANSION  AND  SLAVERY 


Calhoun  and 
compromise. 


Webster  and 
compromise. 


Radical 
opposition. 


the  District  of  Columbia  for  purposes  of  sale  was  forbid 
den. 

On  March  4  Calhoun  made  his  last  appearance  in  public 
life.  In  a  speech  which  he  had  to  have  read,  as  he  was  too 
ill  to  deliver  it,  he  opposed  the  compromise.  He  had  come 
to  despair  of  ultimate  harmony  between  the  two  sections,  the 
balance  in  the  Senate  was  about  to  disappear,  and  his  only 
hope  of  the  Union  now  lay  in  a  constitutional  amendment 
providing  for  two  Presidents,  one  from  each  section,  and  each 
having  a  veto.  It  remained  for  Webster,  the  third  member 
of  the  great  senatorial  triumvirate,  to  declare  himself.  Upon 
him  its  fate  was  felt  to  depend.  If  he  opposed  it,  it  would 
be  doomed  to  failure ;  if  he  favored  it,  it  might  have  a  chance 
to  succeed.  Webster  realized  to  the  full  the  responsibility 
that  was  upon  him.  Living  as  he  did  in  daily  association 
with  the  ablest  lawyers  and  business  men  of  the  country,  and 
regarded  by  them  with  an  almost  unparalleled  confidence  as 
the  one  sane  conservative  force  in  public  life,  he  acted  with 
a  deliberation  and  a  confidence  which  won  for  him  the  title 
of  "  Godlike."  He  now  tested  the  sentiment  of  the  South  and 
became  convinced  that  secession  was  impending.  His  devo 
tion  to  the  Union  was  his  strongest  passion,  and  to  preserve 
it  he  sacrificed  his  feelings  with  regard  to  slavery.  -  On  the 
seventh  of  March,  in  a  great  speech  which  was  awaited  with 
breathless  interest  throughout  the  country,  he  pronounced 
in  favor  of  the  compromise.  He  gave  it  his  support  fully  and 
generously,  addressing  his  argument  to  the  South,  as  the 
section  in  greatest  agitation. 

Webster's  speech  only  made  it  possible  that  the  compro 
mise  might  pass.  It  was  still  opposed  by  the  radicals  of  both 
sections.  Jefferson  Davis,  who  was  coming  to  be  recognized 
as  the  rising  leader  of  the  southern  radicals,  gave  all  his 
weight  against  the  compromise.  The  chief  spokesmen  of 
the  northern  radicals  were  Chase  and  Seward,  both  of  whom 
declared  against  it,  the  latter  creating  a  sensation  through- 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES  325 

out  the  country  by  appealing  from  the  Constitution  to  the 
"higher  law."  It  was  evident  that  the  majority  in  Congress 
were  not  willing  to  sacrifice  sectional  interests  and  their 
slavery  or  antislavery  principles  to  preserve  the  Union ;  or, 
at  least,  that  it  was  not  possible  to  convince  them  that  the 
Union  was  really  in  danger. 

The  opening  of  summer,  however,  brought  changes  fa-  The  Compro 
vorable  to  a  settlement.     On  July  9,  President  Taylor  died.   r 
He  was  succeeded  by  Vice  President  Fillmore  of  New  York, 
who  was  more  docile  in  the  hands  of  the  party  leaders.     He 
made  Webster  his  Secretary  of  State,  and  the  entire  influence    . 
and  patronage  of  the  administration  were  turned  in  favor  of 
the  compromise.     Finally  the  first  attempt  to  pass  the  more 
important  measures  united  in  the  form  of  an  "omnibus" 
bill  was  abandoned,  and  each  part  was  passed  separately, 
by  the  votes  of  the  section  which  it  favored  plus  those  of  men 
from  the  other  sections  who,  like  Webster,  put  the  Union 
first.     Only  four  senators  voted  for  every  part  of  the  com 
promise,  though  three  more  would  have  done  so  had  they  not 
been  unavoidably  absent. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL    NOTES 

The  Calhoun  Papers  continue  to  be  illuminating.  For  the  Sources. 
Polk  administration,  Polk's  Diary,  edited  by  M.  M.  Quaife,  and 
published  in  the  Chicago  Historical  Society,  Collections,  vols.  VI- 
IX,  is  usable.  The  most  significant  speeches  on  the  compromise 
are  the  following:  Calhoun,  J.  C.,  Works,  IV,  542-573.  Chase, 
S.  P.,  in  Cong.  Globe,  3ist  Cong.,  i  sess.,  app.  468-480.  Clay,  H., 
Works,  VI,  601-634.  Seward,  W.  H.,  Cong.  Globe,  3ist  Cong.,  i 
sess.,  260-269.  Webster,  D.,  Works,  V,  324.  These  speeches  can 
also  be  found  in  many  other  places.  On  the  tariff,  report  of  Sec 
retary  Walker,  Taussig,  State  Papers  and  Speeches  on  the  Tariff, 
214-251,  and  also  to  be  found  as  his  regular  Annual  Report  for 
1845,  in  the  Executive  Documents  of  the  Twenty-ninth  Congress.  Historical 

Burgess,  J.  W.,  Middle  Period,   ch.   XV.     Garrison,  G.  P., 
Texas,   chs.  VIII-XXI.     Garrison,  Westward  Expansion,  85-157.   tion. 


326 


TERRITORIAL  EXPANSION  AND   SLAVERY 


Mexican 
war. 


The  terri 
torial  ques 
tion. 


The  Com 
promise  of 
1850. 

Tariff  and 
finance. 

Illustrative 
literature. 


Hoist,  von,  Calhoun,  ch.  VIII.  Tyler,  Letters  and  Lives  of  the 
Tylers,  II,  chs.  IX,  X,  XI. 

Bourne,  E.  G.,  Essays  in  Historical  Criticism,  303-313.  Curtis, 
G.  T.,  Buchanan,  I,  ch.  XXI.  Garrison,  Westward  Expansion, 
188-228.  Hoist,  von,  Calhoun,  ch.  IX.  Jay,  W.,  The  Mexican 
War.  Reeves,  J.  S.,  American  Diplomacy  under  Tyler  and  Polk,  chs. 
Ill,  XIII.  Schurz,  Clay,  II,  ch.  XXV.  Smith,  J.,  Annexation 
of  Texas. 

Garrison,  Westward  Expansion,  254-285.  Hoist,  von,  United 
States,  III,  chs.  XI,  XII.  McLaughlin,  A.  C.,  Cass,  chs.  VIII, 
IX.  Smith,  T.  C.,  The  Liberty  and  Free-Soil  Parties  in  the  North 
west,  chs.  VIII-XI.  Stephens,  War  between  the  States,  II,  collo 
quy  XIV. 

Dodd,  W.  E.,  Statesmen  of  the  Old  South.  Garrison,  Westward 
Expansion,  285-333.  Lodge,  H.  C.,  Webster,  ch.  IX.  Rhodes, 
J.  F.,  United  States,  I,  chs.  II,  III. 

Dewey,  D.  R.,  Financial  History.  Taussig,  Tariff  Hi$>fwy, 
109-154. 

The  Biglow  Papers,  by  J.  R.  Lowell,  give  a  vivid  view  of  Wi? 
anti-war  sentiment. 


CHAPTER  XX 
BREAKING  OF  THE  BONDS  OF  UNION 

THE  passage  of  the  compromise  acts  of  1850  did  not  of  Attempts  to 
itself  assure  good  will  and  harmony.  The  authors  of  the  fhfcompm- 
compromise  devoted  themselves  energetically  for  the  next  few  mise* 
years  to  securing  its  general  acceptance  by  both  North  and 
South.  Webster  was  in  a  position  to  accomplish  the  most. 
He  went  about  the  country,  spending  himself  to  the  very 
limit  of  his  strength  in  popular  orations,  lauding  it  as  a  finality. 
As  Secretary  of  State  he  strove  to  emphasize  the  grandeur 
of  the  United  States  and  to  arouse  an  interest  in  foreign  affairs 
that  might  dull  the  passion  of  domestic  controversy.  Writing 
to  a  friend,  regarding  a  rather  jingoistic  letter  he  had  just 
sent  to  the  Austrian  representative,  M.  Hiilsemann,  he  said 
that  he  wished  to  "touch  the  national  pride  and  make  a  man 
feel  sheepish  and  look  silly  who  should  speak  of  disunion." 
Clay,  physically  unable  to  make  a  direct  appeal  to  the  people, 
drew  up  a  pledge  to  be  signed  by  members  of  both  parties, 
not  to  support  for  the  presidency  any  man  "not  known  to  be 
opposed  to  the  disturbance  of  the  settlement,  and  to  renewal, 
in  any  form,  of  agitation  upon  the  subject  of  slavery." 
Edward  Everett,  who  succeeded  Webster  as  Secretary  of 
State  during  the  last  portion  of  Fillmore's  term,  wrote  a  ring 
ing  dispatch  upon  the  Cuban  question,  calculated  to  appeal 
to  North  and  South  alike. 

These  efforts  were  not   without   success.     The  country  The  corn- 
was  enjoying  an  extreme  prosperity,  the  result  partly  of  the  accepted, 
steady  advance  since  1842,  and  partly  of  the  flood  of  new  capi 
tal  afforded  by  the  gold  of  California.    The  business  interests 

327 


328  BREAKING  OF  THE   BONDS  OF  UNION 

of  the  country  deprecated  disturbing  influences.  In  the 
South,  which  had  fared  rather  the  better  in  the  terms  of  the 
compromise,  the  majority  nearly  everywhere  acquiesced. 
The  Nashville  convention,  which  had  met  in  June,  1850,  held 
an  adjourned  meeting  after  the  measures  had  passed,  but 
took  no  radical  action.  In  Georgia  the  Whig  and  Demo 
cratic  leaders,  Stephens,  Toombs,  and  Howell  Cobb,  com 
bined  successfully  in  favor  of  peace ;  in  Mississippi,  Foote, 
who  favored  the  compromise,  ran  for  governor  in  1851  against 
Jefferson  Davis,  who  had  opposed  it,  and  defeated  him, 
though  only  by  1,009  votes.  (  South  Carolina  was  at  least 
not  ready  to  act  alone,  and  so  secession  was  stayed.  •  In  the 
North,  feeling  was  perhaps  more  intense.  Webster  was 
mourned  by  Whittier  as  a  fallen  angel,  and  became  anathema 
even  to  the  less  extreme  antislavery  sympathizers.  The 
great  majority,  however,  were  satisfied  to  let  things  stand  as 
they  were,  and  when  the  election  of  1852  approached,  the 
condition  of  public  sentiment  was  calmer  than  it  had  been 
since  1844. 

Political  par-  The  Whig  convention  adopted  resolutions  of  a  pro-south- 
ties  in  1852.  ern  cast^  favoring  the  compromise.  The  presidential  candi 
dates  were  Webster  and  Fillmore,  the  nomination  of  either  of 
whom  would  be  an  especial  confirmation  of  the  compromise, 
and  General  Scott,  who  rather  represented  northern  opinion. 
Both  Webster  and  Fillmore  came  very  near  being  chosen, 
but  at  length  Scott  won  the  nomination,'  and  the  Whigs  thus 
tried  the  expedient  of  going  before  the  country  with  a  candi 
date  to  please  one  section,  and  a  platform  to  please  the  other. 
This  was  not  an  abnormal  circumstance,  for  the  platform  was 
adopted  as  drawn  up  by  the  committee  on  resolutions,  consist 
ing  of  one  member  from  each  state,  thus  giving  the  South  a 
large  proportion;  while  the  nominations  were  made  in  full 
convention,  where  the  numerical  weight  of  the  North  counted. 
The  Democrats  were  now  reunited,  harmony  was  their 
watchword,  and  when  the  contest  for  the  nomination  between 


ELECTION  OF   1852  329 

four  of  their  great  leaders,  Cass,  Marcy,  Buchanan,  and 
Douglas,  seemed  likely  to  become  too  serious,  they  decided 
to  nominate  Franklin  Pierce,'  an  inconspicuous  man,  of  un 
doubted  party  loyalty,  whose  selection  would  cause  no  jeal 
ousies.  They  indorsed  the  compromise  without  serious 
question,  and  thus  both  the  great  parties  stood  pledged  to  its 
continuance.  The  result  of  the  election  seemed  still  further  The  election 
to  assure  its  finality.  The  Democratic  party  was  nearly  ° 
everywhere  supposed  to  give  the  best  assurance  of  internal 
peace,  and  as  a  consequence  of  this  feeling,  Pierce  was  elected 
by  254  electoral  votes  to  42  for  Scott.  The  Free-Soil 
party  lost  decidedly,  even  beyond  what  might  have  been  ex 
pected  from  the  return  of  the  Van  Buren  Democrats  to 
the  party  fold.  On  the  other  hand;v  the  overthrow  of  the 
Whigs  was  ominous,  for  an  analysis  of  the  vote  showed  that 
they  had  suffered  even  more  from  those  who  failed  to  vote 
than  from  deserters.  Their  attempt  to  please  both  sections 
had  displeased  both  instead,  and  actually  the  party  failed  to 
rise  again,  so  that  the  settlement  of  the  territorial  ques 
tion  had  been  at  the  expense  of  one  of  the  great  national 
parties,  which  had  constituted  an  important  bond  of  union. 

In  fact  the  calm  was  more  superficial  than  real.  Already  The  new 
by  1852  affairs  had  almost  passed  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
generation  which  made  the  compromise.  The  statesmen  of 
the  middle  period  were  rapidly  disappearing  ;  Calhoun  died 
before  the  compromise  was  passed,  Webster  and  Clay  before 
Pierce  was  inaugurated.  Ben  ton  had  the  unhappier  fate  to 
outlive  his  popularity  in  Missouri,  and  Van  Buren  was  defi 
nitely  out  of  politics.  The  new  generation  was  practically 
in  the  saddle,  and  it  brought  to  national  affairs  a  somewhat 
different  spirit  from  its  predecessor.  Younger  and  without 
the  experience  and  poise  which  years  bring,  the  new  leaders 
were  during  the  next  decade  less  expert  than  their  predeces 
sors  in  handling  public  matters.  Reared  during  a  period  of 
sectional  controversy,  they  lacked  that  single-minded  de- 


33° 


BREAKING    OF  THE  BONDS  OF  UNION 


Northern 

antislavery 

sentiment. 


Uncle  Tom's 
Cabin. 


votion  to  the  Union  which  the  experience  of  the  War  of  1812 
had  produced  in  the  men  young  at  that  time. ;  The  majority 
of  them  looked  upon  most  political  questions  as  moral  ques 
tions  also.  They  differed  from  the  abolitionists  in  being 
men  of  constructive  statesmanlike  ability  ;  they  differed  from 
the  politicians  of  Jackson's  time  in  holding  intense  convic 
tions  as  to  both  the  expediency  and  the  morality  of  slavery. 
;  It  was  almost  too  much  to  hope  that  such  men  would 
accept  the  Compromise  of  1850,  in  the  making  of  which  they 
had  little  share,  and  which  many  of  them  had  opposed,  as  the 
final  solution  of  a  vital  question.  It  was  inconceivable  that 
new  questions  would  not  arise,  dividing  the  sections,  and  if 
they  did,  a  settlement  would  be  even  more  difficult  than  in 
1850.  It  was  becoming  harder  with  every  passing  year  to 
make  one  section  understand  the  position  of  the  other.  It 
was  significant  that,  while  in  the  thirties  the  mobs  in  the 
North  had  attacked  the  abolitionists,  in  the  fifties  they  at 
tacked  the  United  States  officers  engaged  in  returning  fugitive 
slaves.  The  mob  had  not  become  abolitionist,  but  it  had 
moved  a  long  way  in  that  direction.  During  the  next  ten 
years  several  states  passed  "Personal  Liberty"  laws  inter 
fering  with  the  execution  of  the  fugitive  slave  law,  and 
such  laws  were  held  by  southern  statesmen  to  constitute 
nullification.  In  Wisconsin,  the  supreme  court  of  the  state 
in  a  series  of  decisions  actually  declared  the  fugitive  slave 
law  unconstitutional  and  denied  the  right  of  the  national 
courts  to  enforce  it  within  the  state  limits,  while  a  justice  of 
the  supreme  court  of  the  same  state  was  elected  on  a  plat 
form  of  state  rights. 

The  most  striking  illustration  of  the  growth  of  wide 
spread  hostility  to  slavery  was  afforded  in  1852  by  the  re 
ception  given  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  which  at  the  same  time 
did  more  to  popularize  antislavery  feeling  than  any  previous 
agency.  That  novel  was  so  powerful  a  weapon  in  molding 
public  opinion,  that  its  merits  are  to  this  day  a  subject  of 


PIERCE'S  ADMINISTRATION  331 

conflicting  assertion  rather  than  of  criticism.  It  did  not 
endeavor  so  much  to  give  a  scientific  description  of  the  aver 
age  condition  of  the  slave  as  a  picture  of  the  best  and  the 
worst  possibilities  of  his  life.  Its  human  nature,  at  least, 
was  true  enough  to  convince  the  great  mass  of  the  northern 
people,  and  its  incidents  were  so  well  adapted  to  dramatic 
form  that  the  play  written  from  it  reached  tens  of  thousands 
who  would  never  have  read  the  book.  When  a  book  like 
Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  became  the  fetish  of  one  section  and  was 
excluded  from  the  other,  men  of  acute  political  foresight 
might  well  doubt  the  finality  of  any  agreement  on  the  sub 
ject  of  slavery,  however  calm  the  surface  of  practical  politics 
might  seem. 

It  was  thus  in  an  atmosphere  clear  of  clouds,  but  sur-  Diplomacy 
charged  with  electricity,  that  Pierce  began  his  administration,  tfon.  S 
The  impulses  given  by  the  Polk  administration  were  still 
dominant  in  the  party.  The  new  President  made  Marcy 
his  Secretary  of  State,  Buchanan  minister  to  England,  and 
planned  to  signalize  his  administration  by  the  expansion  of 
national  territory.  It  had  in  fact  been  contemplated  for  a 
moment  by  some  party  leaders  to  fight  the  campaign  of  1852 
on  the  issue  of  "Cuba  and  Canada."  The  annexation  of 
Canada  was  scarcely  practicable,  but  it  might  have  served  as 
makeweight  in  the  platform.  To  advocate  the  annexation 
of  Cuba  alone  would  have  stirred  the  sectional  animosities 
which  it  was  sought  to  quell.  If,  however,  the  annexation 
could  be  brought  about  between  elections,  the  administration 
might  go  before  the  country  presenting  a  record  of  a  kind 
much  appreciated  by  that  generation  in  both  West  and  South. 
It  was  thought,  moreover,  that  the  bringing  in  of  Cuba  as  a 
slave  state  would  quiet  the  disappointment  of  the  South  over 
California,  without  too  seriously  alarming  the  North.  An 
nexation  might  be  brought  about  by  purchase  from  Spain, 
by  revolution  within  Cuba  assisted  from  the  United  States, 
or  as  the  result  of  war  with  Spain.  The  first  of  these  methods 


332  BREAKING  OF   THE   BONDS  OF   UNION 

had  been  unsuccessfully  tried  by  Buchanan  in  1848.  During 
the  next  six  years  the  second  was  attempted.  Several  fili 
bustering  expeditions  were  organized  by  a  Cuban,  General 
Lopez,  who  received  much  popular  sympathy  in  the  United 
States.  Twice  a  landing  was  effected  on  the  island,  but  no 
general  rising  followed.  In  1851  Lopez  lost  his  life,  and 
General  Quitman  became  the  leader  of  the  movement,  which, 
however,  came  to  naught.  In  1854  it  seemed  as  if  accident 
would  bring  about  a  resort  to  the  third  method,  for  the 
seizure  of  the  Black  Warrior,  an  American  vessel,  by  the 
Cuban  authorities,  almost  led  to  war  between  the  United 
States  and  Spain.  An  apology  by  Spain,  and  the  good  sense 
of  Secretary  Marcy,  however,  prevented  such  a  result.  /;  The 
administration,  therefore,  was  forced  to  drop  the  Cuban 
question  or  to  take  deliberate  action.  Pierce  decided  upon 
the  latter;  and  ordered  Buchanan,  Mason,  and  Soule,  the 
ministers  to  England,  France,  and  Spain,  respectively,  to 
meet  and  formulate  a  policy..  In  1854,  at  Ostend,  a  watering 
place  in  Belgium,  they  consequently  drew  up  what  is  known 
as  the  "Ostend  Manifesto."  In  this  they  contended  that 
the  United  States  should  offer  to  buy  Cuba.  If  Spain  re 
fused,  the  United  States  would  be  Justified  in  taking  Cuba  by 
force,  as  a  measure  in  self-defense.  The  dangers  they  feared 
were,  first,  that  a  slave  insurrection  was  impending  in  the 
island,  which  would  influence  the  minds  of  the  slaves  in  this 
country;  and  second,  that  England  might  take  Cuba  by 
arrangement  with  Spain,  and  thus  obtain  a  position  imperil 
ing  our  commerce  if  not  our  safety.  This  document  so  far 
overstepped  the  bounds  of  public  morality  as  generally  ex 
pressed,  that  Marcy  recommended  that  it  be  disregarded. 
The  administration  passed  without  advancing  Cuban  an 
nexation. 

Diplomacy  This  failure  confined  the  expansionist  activity  of  the  ad- 

ministration  to  the  acquirement  of  a  small  piece  of  land  on  the 
southern  border,  which  was  needed  for. railroad  purposes. 


CANAL  DIPLOMACY  333 

The  sudden  growth  of  California  had  made  the  problem  of 
transcontinental  transit  a  matter  of  prime  importance.  The 
route  by  Cape  Horn  was  too  long  and  dangerous.  The  proj 
ect  of  a  canal  at  some  one  of  the  narrow  points  in  Central 
America,  which  had  been  bruited  for  over  three  centuries, 
was  revived,  and  companies  were  actually  formed  to  under 
take  the  work.  The  political  difficulties,  however,  were 
almost  as  great  as  the  physical.  The  countries  of  Central 
America  were  unable  to  guarantee  the  safety  of  transit  or  the 
security  of  capital.  In  1846  a  treaty  was  made  with  Colom 
bia  by  which  the  United  States  agreed  to  guarantee  to  Colom 
bia  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  in  return  for  a  free  and  equal 
right  of  passage  and  the  right  to  intervene  to  preserve  the 
neutrality  of  the  route  across  the  isthmus.  This  treaty  was 
in  accord  with  the  general  policy  pursued  by  the  United 
States  for  the  next  thirty  years,  that  such  passageways, 
whether  over  land  or  water,  should  be  enjoyed  by  all  nations 
in  common.  Other  nations  were  invited  to  join  in  the  guar 
antee.  Owing  to  the  transportation  facilities  provided  by 
Commodore  Vanderbilt,  the  Nicaragua  route  became  more 
popular  than  that  by  Panama,  and  a  canal  was  projected 
through  the  rivers,  lakes,  and  mountains  of  that  country. 
England  was  deeply  interested  in  Nicaragua,  and  in  1850 
Clayton,  Taylor's  Secretary  of  State,  and  Bulwer,  the  Eng 
lish  minister,  arranged  a  treaty  providing  that  neither  coun 
try  should  acquire  special  interests  in  Central  America.  This 
treaty  was  extremely  unpopular,  and  was  attacked  by  the 
Democrats  as  an  abandonment  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine. 
Many  attempts  were  made  to  abolish  it,  but  it  remained  in 
force  until  1902. 

The  canal  project  failed,  because  the  undertaking  proved 
too  great  for  the  financial  and  engineering  resources  of  the 
time.     In  1856,  however,  a  railroad  was  built  over  the  Panama  Transcend- 
route. .   In  the  meantime  the  desirability  of  a  transcontinental 
railroad  which  might  lie  wholly  within  the  territory  of  the 


334  BREAKING   OF   THE   BONDS  OF   UNION 

United  States,  was  becoming  more  and  more  evident,  and  Con 
gress  was  actively  at  work  on  the  details  of  the  undertaking. 
The  surveys  of  the  War  Department,  however,  brought  out 
the  fact  that  the  route  involving  the  fewest  engineering  diffi 
culties  ran  south  of  the  United  States  boundary  as  fixed  by 
the  treaty  of  1848.  To  obviate  this  difficulty  a  new  treaty 
was  made  with  Mexico  in  1853,  by  which  54,000  square  miles, 
known,  from  the  minister  who  negotiated  the  treaty,  as  the 
"Gadsden  Purchase,"  were  acquired,  including  the  desired 
roadway.  Sectional  difficulties,  however,  combined  with 
financial  and  other  complications  to  prevent  the  actual 
work  of  railway  construction.  The  same  treaty  provided 
for  the  mutual  use  of  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec  by  Mexico 
and  the  United  States,  and  gave  the  United  States  the  right 
to  intervene  to  preserve  its  neutrality. 

Commercial  Once  aroused,  the  interest  in  transportation  did  not  stop 

expansion.       with  the  routes  kavmg  tfas  special  interest  for  the  United 

States.  The  Whig  administration  had  begun  an  attempt  to 
open  up  the  great  rivers  of  South  America  to  the  commerce 
of  the  world,  and  Marcy  in  1854  concluded  a  treaty  with  the 
Argentine  Confederation  affecting  the  Plata,  and  actively 
negotiated  with  Brazil  and  Peru  concerning  the  Amazon. 
Marcy  also  arranged  for  the  abolition  of  the  tolls  collected 
by  Denmark  from  vessels  entering  the  Baltic,  though  the 
treaty  by  which  this  result  was  accomplished  was  concluded 
under  his  successor.  He  inherited  the  Whig  policy  that 
led  to  Commodore  Perry's  successful  treaty  with  Japan  in 
1854,  which  proved  of  unexpected  significance,  and  him 
self  arranged  for  treaties  with  Persia  and  Siam.  He  con 
cluded  treaties  on  the  subject  of  neutral  rights  with  Persia, 
Russia,  and  the  two  Sicilies,  and  extradition  treaties  with 
many  German  states  and  the  two  Sicilies.  He  also  revived 
the  Jacksonian  policy  of  reciprocity,  making  with  England 
in  behalf  of  Canada  an  agreement  which  placed  commerce 
upon  a  most  liberal  footing  for  the  next  twelve  years.  When 


DOUGLAS   AND   NEBRASKA  335 

these  treaties  are  considered  in  the  light  of  the  growing 
American  merchant  marine,  filling  the  Caribbean  Sea  and 
circling*  South  America  for  the  California  trade  and  the 
whaling  industry,  it  may  be  seen  that  they  might  be  sup 
posed  to  bear  promise  of  a  revolution  in  American  interests, 
and  that  it  was  not  wholly  visionary  to  hope  that  the  public 
attention  might  be  diverted  from  slavery  to  foreign  affairs. 

All  questions,  however,  tended  to  become  sectional.  Chi-  Douglas  and 
cago  and  St.  Louis  were  little  pleased  with  the  southern 
route  for  the  transcontinental  railroad.  Each  planned  a 
road,  to  be  built  with  the  aid  of  government  land  grants,  to 
bring  western  commerce  to  their  markets.  A  necessary  pre 
liminary  was  the  organization  of  a  territorial  government  in 
the  region  to  be  traversed,  which  had  been  left  till  then  to 
the  Indians.  Pioneer  settlers,  moreover,  had  for  some  time 
chafed  at  being  held  within  the  western  boundaries  of  Mis 
souri  and  Iowa,  and  joined  with  the  commercial  interests,  in 
demanding  government  and  land  surveys  in  the  valleys  of 
the  Kansas  and  the  Platte.  The  organization  of  the  region, 
however,  was  blocked  by  the  South,  because  it  lay  north  of 
36°  30',  and  would  be  destined,  by  the  Missouri  Compromise, 
to  increase  the  number  of  the  free  states]  With  the  admis 
sion  of  Arkansas  in  1836  and  of  Florida  in  1845,  there 
remained  to  be  developed  into  slave  states  only  the  territory 
of  New  Mexico.  To  break  this  deadlock,  Senator  Atchison 
of  Missouri,  who  had  succeeded  Benton  in  the  Senate,  was 
insisting  that  the  prohibition  of  slavery  be  repealed.  The 
leadership  in  the  solution  of  the  problem,  however,  was 
undertaken  by  Senator  Stephen  A.  Douglas  of  Illinois,  long 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  territories.  In  1853  he  had 
introduced  a  bill  to  organize  a  territory  here,  and  throw  the 
land  open  to  settlement.  In  1854  he  brought  in  a  new  bill 
resembling  the  first  except  that  it  contained  the  provision 
that  the  question  of  slavery  should  be  determined  by  the 
people  of  the  territory.  He  subsequently  incorporated  with 


336  BREAKING   OF  THE   BONDS  OF   UNION 

his  proposal  the  direct  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise. 
He  realized  that  such  action  would  be  violently  attacked  in 
the  North,  but  he  hoped  to  offset  this  opposition  by  the 
appeal  to  the  strong  popular  sentiment  in  favor  of  self-gov 
ernment.  His  plan  of  squatter  sovereignty,  which  he  re 
named  popular  sovereignty,  would,  he  claimed,  take  the 
whole  vexing  question  of  the  status  of  slavery  in  the  terri 
tories  out  of  Congress.  He  probably  hoped  that  the  South 
would  welcome  the  possibility  of  territorial  gain,  while  the 
Northwest  would  rejoice  in  the  new  land  opportunities  and 
commercial  openings.  Young  and  vigorous,  and  counting 
on  the  gratitude  of  two  such  powerful  sections,  he  undoubt 
edly  looked  to  the  presidency  as  a  prompt  reward. 
Kansas-  The  discussion  which  this  bill  precipitated  was  the  most 

debate.  &  acrimonious  in  which  Congress  had  as  yet  engaged  on  the 
slavery  question.  Douglas  was  attacked  for  disturbing  the 
peace  of  the  country,  for  sacrificing  territory  to  slavery,  for 
proposing  an  impracticable  political  scheme.  Chase  was  his 
most  successful  opponent,  although  Seward  really  managed 
the  opposition,  and  Charles  Sumner,  who  had  entered  the 
Senate  from  Massachusetts  as  a  result  of  a  contest  in  which 
the  Free-Soilers  had  held  the  balance  in  the  legislature,  con 
tributed  the  pure  fire  of  his  enthusiasm.  Douglas  defended 
himself  against  the  charge  of  being  an  agitator  on  the  ground 
that  his  bill  but  embodied  the  principles  of  the  Compromise 
of  1850.  He  found  the  southern  members  somewhat  doubt 
ful  of  the  gift  he  came  bearing  them,  and  found  it  necessary 
to  amend  his  bill  in  order  to  pass  it.  As  it  finally  went  to 
vote  it  provided  for  the  organization  of  two  territories,  Kansas 
and  Nebraska,  instead  of  one;  perhaps  with  the  idea  that 
one  might  become  free  and  one  slave.  On  the  subject  of 
slavery  it  read:  "It  being  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of 
this  act  not  to  legislate  slavery  into  any  territory  or  state 
nor  to  exclude  it  therefrom ;  but  to  leave  the  people  thereof 
perfectly  free  to  form  and  regulate  their  domestic  institutions 


THE  KANSAS-NEBRASKA  QUESTION  337 

in  their  own  way,  subject  only  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States." 

The  vote  on  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  completely  de-  Kansas- 
molished  party  lines.  In  the  Senate  twenty-eight  Democrats  vote** 
voted  for  it  and  five  against ;  nine  Whigs  for  it  and  seven 
against.  The  South  was  practically  solid  for  it,  twenty-five 
to  two ;  the  North  was  divided  fourteen  in  favor  and  twelve 
against.  In  the  House  the  contest  was  closer;  forty-two 
northern  Democrats  out  of  eighty-six  refused  to  vote  for 
this  measure,  although  it  had  the  backing  of  the  administra 
tion.  The  Whigs  were  so  divided  that  Seward  wrote  to  his 
wife:  "What  you  have  so  long  wished  for  has  come  around 
at  last.  The  Whigs  of  the  North  are  separated  from  the 
Whigs  of  the  South,  and  happily,  by  the  act  of  the  latter,  not 
the  former."  The  bill  was  passed  by  an  approving  South,  with 
the  assistance  of  about  one  half  of  the  northern  Democracy. 

Even  before   the  final  passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska   Kansas- 
bill,  on  May  22,  1854,  the  campaign  for  the  control  of  the  ^pSgni 
next  Congress  began.     Few  political  contests  have  been  more  the  North- 
important  or  more  bitter.     In  the  North  all  parties  were 
thoroughly    demoralized.     The    Democrats    were    divided 
between  those  supporting  the  bill  and  those  opposing  it.     The 
Whig  party  almost  vanished,  except  in  a  few  states  like  New 
York   and   Massachusetts,   where   it  was   particularly   well 
organized.     A  third  party  had  already,  about  1852,  entered 
the  field,  based  on  the  growing  feeling  against  immigrants.   "Know- 
This  feeling  first  found  expression  in  the  formation  of  secret 
societies.     Soon  these  began  to  enter  politics  with  the  design 
of   increasing   the  period   necessary   for   naturalization,   of 
excluding  foreigners  and  Catholics  from  office,  and  in  general 
of  restricting  the  privileges  of  those  not  native-born.     Banded 
together  in  secret  societies,  with  an  elaborate  ritual,  they  at 
first  threw  their  weight  to  whichever  of  the  regular  party 
candidates  pleased  them.     Their  organization  enabled  them 
to  predict  results  with  startling  exactness,  and  their  success 


338  BREAKING  OF  THE   BONDS  OF  UNION 

encouraged  them  to  venture  independently.  Under  the 
name  of  the  American  party,  but  more  popularly  called 
"Know-Nothings,"  they  carried  several  state  elections, 
and  hoped  to  control  the  new  Congress.  The  unex 
pected  introduction  of  the  slavery  question,  however,  di- 

The  Republi-  vided  them,  as  it  did  the  other  parties.  A  fourth  party  was 
m  party.  formecl  in  the  West  particularly  to  meet  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
issue.  At  Ripon,  in  Wisconsin,  a  meeting  called  to  express 
disapproval  of  slavery  extension  adopted  the  name  Republi 
can.  This  name  proved  popular  and  was  taken  up  by  a  state 
convention  in  Michigan.  Other  states  followed,  and  through 
out  this  region,  as  well  as  in  Maine,  this  newest  party  became 
the  meeting  place  of  those  who  believed  slavery  to  be  the 
leading  question  of  politics.  Although  there  were  four  par 
ties,  the  issue  in  every  northern  congressional  district  was 
plain.  Whether  the  contest  was  between  two  Democrats,  or 
between  a  Democrat  and  a  Whig,  a  Republican,  or  a  Know- 
Nothing, —  everywhere  one  candidate  stood  for  Douglas's 
policy  and  one  against  further  extension  of  slavery.  The 

Result  in  result  was  an  overwhelming  rebuke  to  Douglas  and  the  ad- 
rt  '  ministration  which  supported  him.  The  Democrats  lost 
347,742  votes  in  the  North,  and  their  majority  of  eighty- 
four  in  the  House  was  turned  into  a  minority  of  seventy-five. 

Campaign  in          It  was  a  significant  and  ominous  fact  that  in  the  South 


there  was  a  campaign  as  different  from  that  in  the  North  as 
if  it  were  another  country.  The  Whig  party  here  also  had 
become  moribund,  and  the  majority,  leaders  as  well  as  rank 
and  file,  transferred  themselves  to  the  American  party,  which, 
as  the  immigration  question  was  of  little  importance  in  the 
South,  trusted  largely  for  vitality  to  its  demand  for  reform 
in  administration.  Some  who  had  been  Democrats  joined 
the  Americans,  while  some  Whigs,  as  Alexander  Stephens, 
refused  to  join  the  new  movement,  and  became  Democrats, 
and  the  loss  and  gain  in  the  transfer  from  the  one  party  to 
the  other  made  the  elections  sufficiently  exciting.  The 


THE  KANSAS-NEBRASKA  QUESTION  339 

territorial  question,  however,  attracted  little  attention,  and 
there  was  small  divergence  between  the  Americans  and  Dem 
ocrats  on  that  point.  Such  discussion  as  there  was,  how 
ever,  boded  ill  for  the  future  of  both  parties.  Whereas  the 
Americans  elected  in  the  North  were  one  and  all  opposed  to 
the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  because  it  opened  up  those  territo 
ries  to  slavery,  the  Americans  in  the  South  attacked  it  be 
cause,  by  allowing  the  squatters  to  exclude  slavery,  it  violated 
Calhoun's  principle  that  all  the  territories  were  constitution 
ally  open  to  slavery.  Whereas  Douglas  was  defending  his 
bill  in  the  North  on  the  ground  that  it  established  the  Dem 
ocratic  principle  of  leaving  the  matter  to  the  people  on  the 
spot,  Stephens  defended  it  in  Georgia  on  the  ground  that  it 
granted  the  people  of  the  territory  "all  the  power  that 
Congress  had  over  it,  and  no  more."  "The  inherent  sover 
eign  right  of  the  people  to  establish  a  government  independ 
ently  of  Congress  is  not  recognized  in  a  single  clause  of  that 
bill."  Henry  A.  Wise  of  Virginia,  one  of  the  leading  Dem 
ocrats  of  the  South,  openly  attacked  the  principle  of  popu 
lar  sovereignty  as  applied  to  the  territories,  and  in  general  it 
was  understood  to  apply  to  the  states  only,  and  to  mean  that 
they  could  not  properly  be  enjoined  from  allowing  slavery, 
as  had  been  done  by  the  Northwest  Ordinance  of  1787  and  the 
Missouri  Compromise  of  1820.  In  fact  the  southern  and 
northern  Democrats  had  totally  different  conceptions  of  what 
had  been  accomplished  by  the  Kansas-Nebraska  act.  For  a 
time  the  ambiguous  phrase  of  popular  sovereignty  held  them 
together,  but  a  union  dependent  upon  a  misunderstanding 
was  of  doubtful  duration.  In  the  congressional  elections 
of  1854  and  1855  the  Democrats  lost  to  the  Americans  in 
the  South,  though  not  so  heavily  as  to  their  opponents  in 
the  North.  In  the  last  Congress  there  had  been  but  twenty- 
four  southern  Whigs ;  in  the  new  one  there  were  thirty-two 
southern  Americans  and  Whigs. 

By  the  time  Congress  came  together  in  December,  1855, 


340 


BREAKING  OF  THE   BONDS  OF  UNION 


Speaker  ship 
contest. 


The  struggle 
for  Kansas. 


some  degree  of  order  had  been  brought  out  of  the  political 
chaos  of  1854.  Most  of  the  northern  Americans  had  become 
to  all  intents  and  purposes  Republicans,  and,  with  some  of 
the  Anti-Kansas-Nebraska  Democrats,  supported  Nathaniel 
P.  Banks,  the  Republican  candidate  for  the  speakership. 
The  southern  Americans  supported  H.  M.  Fuller,  and  stood 
by  the  Calhoun  doctrine  of  non-intervention  with  slavery 
in  the  territories.  The  regular  Democrats  nominated  William 
A.  Richardson,  an  advocate  of  popular  sovereignty.  No  one 
of  these  received  a  majority,  the  vote  standing  105  for  Banks, 
40  for  Fuller,  and  74  for  Richardson.  For  two  months  the 
contest  went  on  and  133  ballots  were  taken.  At  last  it 
was  agreed  that  a  plurality  should  elect,  and  Banks  was  con 
sequently  chosen. 

In  the  meantime  the  country  was  being  given  a  practical 
illustration  of  the  working  of  popular  sovereignty.  It  was 
universally  recognized  that  Nebraska  would  be  settled  from 
the  North  and  would  decide  in  favor  of  a  free  soil. ,  Kansas, 
however,  lay  directly  west  of  Missouri,  and  it  was'  feared  in 
the  North,  and  hoped  in  the  South,  that  its  population  would 
be  proslavery.  The  spirit  in  the  North  was  such,  however, 
that  this  could  not  take  place  without  a  struggle,  and  Kansas 
became  a  bone  of  contention.  From  both  sections  emigrants 
willing  to  settle  in  the  disputed  territory  were  assisted  in  their 
desires,  and  were  furnished  with  arms,  to  be  used,  of  course, 
only  in  self-defense.  In  this  work  the  North  had  great  ad 
vantages.  The  very  fact  that  violence  might  be  expected  in 
Kansas  deterred  the  slave  owners  from  bringing  into  it  prop 
erty  which  might  readily  be  lost.  Many  of  the  northern 
settlers  were  abolitionists  anxious  to  promote  their  cause, 
and  even  those  who  had  no  strong  moral  convictions  on  the 
subject  were  unwilling  to  throw  the  territory  open  to  slave 
labor  and  to  capitalistic  farmers  employing  slaves.  The 
North  had,  moreover,  more  money,  more  organizing  ability, 
and  a  larger  migratory  population.  ] 


THE  STRUGGLE  FOR   KANSAS  -  341 

On  March  30,  1855,  while  the  vanguard  of  this  free-soil  Popular 
army  was  passing  into  the  territory,  the  first  election  occurred  ^KJSf  asX 
for  the  territorial  legislature.  The  greater  number  of  votes 
in  this  election  were  cast  by  citizens  of  Missouri,  who  rode 
over  the  border,  cast  their  votes,  and  returned.  Western 
Missouri  was  strongly  prosouthern  in  sentiment,  and  while 
its  inhabitants  were  not  ready  to  move  into  Kansas  in  order 
to  carry  it  for  slavery,  they  organized  "Blue  Lodges,"  whose 
purpose  was  to  assist  their  friends  across  the  border.  These 
votes  elected  a  proslavery  legislature,  which  speedily  passed 
a  code  of  laws  encouraging  that  institution.  Governor 
Reeder  protested  against  the  election  frauds  and  was  re 
moved  by  President  Pierce,  who  recognized  the  legislature 
as  legally  representing  the  people  of  Kansas.;  The  Free- 
Soilers,  whose  numbers  grew  rapidly  during  the  summer, 
would  not  submit  to  a  government  which  they  held  had  been 
fraudulently  established.  They  ignored  the  territorial  legis 
lature  and,  meeting  at  Topeka,  drew  up  a  state  constitution, 
and  petitioned  Congress  for  admission  as  a  state,  on  a  no- 
slavery  basis.  Thus  popular  sovereignty  had  failed  in  its 
political  object  of  keeping  slavery  discussion  out  of  Congress ; 
and  the  same  Congress  which  found  such  difficulty  in  electing 
its  Speaker  was  confronted  by  a  new  phase  of  the  territorial 
question. 

The  deadlock  in  Congress  prevented  action,  the  request  Sumner  and 
for  admission  under  the  Topeka  constitution  was  not  granted, 
and  Kansas  was  left  in  the  hands  of  the  administration. '  'The 
debate,  however,  furnished  one  incident  which  illustrated  in 
a  peculiarly  dramatic  way  the  growing  acerbity  of  sectional 
feeling.  Charles  Sumner  delivered  an  oration,  published 
later  under  the  title  of  The  Crime  against  Kansas.  His 
style  of  oratory  was  polished  in  the  extreme,  and  acquired 
a  special  weight  from  the  care  and  deliberation  with  which 
he  was  known  to  prepare  his  utterances.  With  this  extreme 
care  he  combined  the  fire  and  straight  speaking  of  a  radical 


342  BREAKING  OF  THE   BONDS  OF   UNION 

to  whom  any  injustice  was  a  burning  sore  and  any  proposi 
tion  of  compromise  was  as  enraging  as  an  affront  to  his 
personal  honor.  The  form  of  his  oratory  was  modeled  upon 
that  of  Athens,  and  in  spite  of  the  delicacy  and  sensitiveness 
of  his  taste,  he  sometimes  used  images,  drawn  from  ancient 
authors,  which  were  scarcely  considered  seemly  in  the  nine 
teenth  century.  He  selected  as  the  particular  object  of  his 
attack  the  venerable  Senator  Butler  of  South  Carolina,  and 
heaped  upon  his  head  epithets  that,  as  between  two  southern 
ers,  would  inevitably  have  resulted  in  a  duel.  Such  repara 
tion  was  impossible  in  this  case,  as  Sumner  had  the  New 
Englander's  abhorrence  of  that  method  of  settling  disputes, 
and,  owing  to  the  privileges  of  debate,  legal  redress  could 
not  be  obtained.  Under  these  provocative  circumstances, 
Preston  Brooks,  Butler's  nephew  and  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  attacked  Sumner  from  behind, 
as  he  was  seated  at  his  desk  in  the  Senate,  and  beat  him  on 
the  head  with  a  cane  into  unconsciousness. 

Brooks  and  Throughout  the  South,  Brooks  was  applauded  as  a  hero ; 

the  support  of  all  but  one  of  the  southern  representatives 
prevented  his  expulsion  from  the  House  of  Representatives, 
a  two-thirds  majority  being  required,  and  he  was  reflected 
without  opposition  at  the  next  election.  The  fact  that  an 
affair  between  two  representatives  of  the  most  refined  classes 
of  the  two  sections  could  degenerate  into  such  a  personal 
encounter,  and  that  Brooks's  attack  upon  a  defenseless  man 
could  receive  the  approbation  of  the  chivalry  of  the  South, 
was  a  sign  of  the  chasm  which  began  to  widen  between  North 
and  South. 

TheRepubli-  Under  such  circumstances,  but  with  some  modification 
of  popular  excitement,  the  election  of  1856  approached. 
The  Republicans  had  already  reached  a  degree  of  solidarity 
most  unusual  in  a  party  so  young.  They  met  at  Philadel 
phia,  as  Pennsylvania  was  regarded  as  being  the  pivotal 
state,  and  accomplished  their  business  with  a  degree  of  har- 


POLITICAL  PARTIES   IN    1856  343 

mony  remarkable  considering  that  their  members  were 
drawn  from  all  preceding  parties  and  included  many  men  of 
great  ability  and  marked  individuality  who  had  not  pre 
viously  acted  with  any  party.  Their  platform  was,  indeed, 
inconsistent  on  the  territorial  question,  for  one  clause  denied 
"the  authority  of  Congress,  of  a  territorial  legislature,  of 
any  individual  or  association  of  individuals,  to  give  legal 
existence  to  slavery  in  any  territory  of  the  United  States, 
while  the  present  Constitution  shall  be  maintained,"  while 
that  which  succeeded,  asserted  the  authority  of  Congress. 
The  intention,  authority  or  no  authority,  to  keep  slavery 
out  was,  however,  emphatically  evident.  They  selected 
as  their  candidate  John  C.  Fremont,  a  young  army  officer 
with  a  brilliant  and  rather  romantic  record ;  and  thus  avoided 
creating  jealousies  among  the  greater  leaders.  As  the 
Whigs  predominated,  the  platform  declared  in  favor  of  in 
ternal  improvements,  particularly  of  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific 
and  the  development  of  rivers  and  harbors.  The  presence 
of  Democrats  and  particularly  of  a  considerable  number  of 
German-Americans  from  the  critical  region  of  the  Northwest, 
prevented  them  from  expressing  unfriendliness  to  foreigners. 
The  Republicans  were  united,  determined,  and  they  stated 
precisely  what  they  wanted,  but  they  were  obliged  to  face 
the  fact  that  this  unity  of  purpose  was  at  the  sacrifice  of 
representation  in  the  southern  states.  The  party  was 
purely  sectional. 

The  American  party  also  held  its  first  national  conven-  American  * 
tion,  but  was  less  fortunate  than  the  Republicans,  in  that  a  c 
distinct  split  occurred.   The  majority  of  its  northern  members  nations- 
seceded,   ultimately  merging  with  the  Republicans.     This 
left  the  party  in  the  control  of  the  southern  element,  but  it, 
nevertheless,  adopted  a  conservative  tone,  refused  to  declare 
itself  on  the  territorial  question  except  to  indorse  the  Com 
promise  of  1850,  and  tried  to  divert  attention  to  its  special 
issue    of     the     foreign    peril.     Its    nominees,    ex-President 


344 


BREAKING  OF  THE   BONDS  OF   UNION 


Election  of 
1856. 


Diplomacy 
and  the 
crisis  of 
1857- 


Fillmore  for  President^  and  Andrew  Jackson  Donelson  for 
Vice  President,  were  indorsed  by  a  Whig  convention,  repre 
senting  but  a  small  faction  of  that  party.  Together  they 
bid  for  the  support  of  the  lovers  of  peace  and  of  union.  The 
Democrats  were  able  to  present  the  appearance  of  union. 
Douglas's  ambiguous  phrase,  popular  sovereignty,  still  served 
to  keep  together  men  of  very  different  views.  With  two 
new  parties  in  the  field  they  did  well  to  emphasize  their 
party  continuity  by  the  selection  of  Buchanan,  prominent 
in  Democratic  councils  for  nearly  forty  years,  as  their  candi 
date.  Buchanan,  moreover,  was  closely  identified  with  the 
policy  of  adopting  an  active  foreign  policy  in  order  to  dis 
tract  attention  from  domestic  troubles,  and  commanded  the 
support  of  the  best  of  the  conservative  element  and  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  business  interests  of  the  country:  Men 
like  Rufus  Choate,  the  friend  of  Daniel  Webster,  and  a  life 
long  Whig,  now  voted  the  Democratic  ticket  as  affording  the 
best  chance  for  continued  peace. 

!The  result  of  the  election  was  the  choice  of  Buchanan. 
In  the  North  the  contest  was  three-cornered  ;  the  Ameri 
cans  held  the  balance  in  six  states,  but  won  no  electoral 
votes.  In  this  section  Fremont  received  114  electoral  votes, 
to  62  for  Buchanan.  This  was  not  sufficient,  however,  to 
overcome  Buchanan's  overwhelming  victory  in  the  South, 
where  he  received  the  vote  of  every  slave  state  except 
Maryland,  which  voted  for  Fillmore. 

Buchanan  hoped  for  diplomatic  success.  He  appointed 
as  Secretary  of  State,  Lewis  Cass,  who  obtained  a  satisfac 
tory  arrangement  with  England  on  the  right  of  search. 
Buchanan's  pet  project  of  the  annexation  of  Cuba,  however, 
made  no  progress ;  an  opportunity  for  expansion  in  Central 
America,  opened  by  the  filibustering  expedition  of  William 
Walker,  took  such  form  that  .Buchanan  himself  was  obliged 
to  discountenance  it;  and  disturbances  in  Mexico,  which  he 
might  have  turned  into  an  occasion  for  intervention,  cul- 


BUCHANAN'S  ADMINISTRATION  345 

minated  just  too  late.  His  aspirations  for  a  brilliant  diplo 
matic  record,  therefore,  came  to  naught.  His  administration, 
moreover,  was  a  period  of  economic  distress.  So  prosperous 
was  the  country,  so  full  the  treasury,  and  so  nearly  paid  the 
debt,  on  the  eve  of  his  inauguration,  that  the  tariff  was 
further  reduced,  by  a  combination  of  the  southern  and  the 
commercial  interests.  No  sooner  was  this  done,  however, 
than  a  financial  crisis  came  upon  the  country.  This  was  par 
ticularly  a  railroad  crisis,  caused  by  the  great  amounts,  of 
capital  invested  during  the  decade  in  enterprises  many  of 
which  were  not  immediately  remunerative.  vTt  was  heightened 
by  general  speculation  along  other  lines,  especially  in  land, 
and  by  the  absence  of  effective  banking  laws  in  many  states.  x\ 
It  was  not  so  severe  as  that  of  1837;, it  affected  the  South, 
where  the  banks  of  Louisiana  held  strong  specie  reserves, 
comparatively  little,  and  the  West  less  than  the  East  ^  but 
for  the  next  few  years  business  was  contracted,  imports 
declined,  and  the'  government  was  forced  to  borrow  money, 
sometimes  finding  difficulty  in  placing  its  loans. 

The  beginning  of  the  administration  saw  still  one  more  The  Dred 
attempt  to  settle  the  territorial  question.  A  case  had  for  Scott  case> 
some  time  been  before  the  courts  involving  the  status  of  a 
certain  Dred  Scott,  a  Missouri  negro  who  claimed  his  freedo'm 
because  his  former  master,  an  army  surgeon,  had  at  one  time 
taken  him  to  reside  in  the  free  state  of  Illinois.  This  case 
did  not  necessarily  involve  any  important  point,  as  there 
was  good  legal  precedent  for  the  view  that,  though  to  touch 
free  soil  might  make  a  slave  free,  the  condition  of  slavery 
would  revive  on  voluntary  reentrance  into  territory  where 
slavery  was  legal.  It  was,  however,  successfully  urged  upon 
Chief  Justice  Taney  that  this  case  might  afford  the  means 
of  setting  forth  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  on  the 
whole  question  of  slavery  in  the  territories  ;  for  Dred  Scott's 
wife's  freedom  was  also  at  stake,  and  her  claim  rested  on 
residence  in  the  Minnesota  territory,  which  was  at  the  time 


346 


BREAKING  OF  THE  BONDS   OF  UNION 


The  decision. 


Bloodshed 
in  Kansas. 


free  under  the  Missouri  Compromise.  The  prestige  of  the 
Court  was  so  great,  it  was  argued,  that  the  people  of  the 
country  would  unhesitatingly  accept  its  opinion,  and  thus 
political  controversy  might  be  brought  to  an  end.  Buchanan 
referred  in  his  inaugural  to  the  forthcoming  decision  as  some 
thing  which  might  set  men's  minds  at  rest. 

Judge  Taney  himself  handed  down  the  decision  of  a 
majority  of  the  Court.  He  argued  that  Dred  Scott  had  no 
right  to  bring  suit  before  the  Court  because  he  was  a  negro, 
and  a  negro  could  not  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 
The  Declaration  of  Independence  could  not  be  held  to  declare 
the  equality  of  negroes  with  white  men,  because  it  must  be 
interpreted  in  the  light  of  conditions  existing  at  the  time, 
and  in  1776  there  were  negro  slaves  in  every  state.  He 
further  argued  that  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  uncon 
stitutional,  for  Congress  could  not  take  away,  without  due 
process  of  law,  slave  property  or  any  other  kind  of  property 
in  the  common  territories  of  the  United  States.  Particu 
larly  should  this  principle  hold  in  territory  bought,  like  the 
Louisiana  Purchase,  with  the  common  funds  of  all  the 
states.  This  view,  though  legally  differing  somewhat  from 
Calhoun's  doctrine  of  "non-intervention,"  resembled  it  in 
that  it  opened  all  United  States  territory,  not  yet  or 
ganized  into  states,  to  slavery.  This  decision  made  a 
profound  impression  on  the  public  mind,  but  it  did  not 
settle  the  territorial  problem.  Rather  it  weakened  the 
respect  for  the  Court.  It  was  pointed  out  that  Justices 
Curtis  and  McLean  dissented,  presenting  weighty  arguments. 
The  legal  force  of  the  decision  was  also  questioned.  A  court 
can  declare  the  law  only  in  regard  to  a  case  before  it ;  and 
many  held  that  the  general  questions  into  which  Judge 
Taney  entered  were  really  not  involved,  and  that  his  state 
ments  on  those  points  were  in  the  nature  of  obiter  dicta. 

•  In  the  meantime,  the  Kansas  question  was  again  exciting 
attention.    Locally  the  situation  was  becoming  more  acute. 


WAR   IN   KANSAS  347 

.In  1855  the  free-soil  and  proslavery  factions  had  met  in 
arms  during  what  was  known  as  the  Wakarusa  War,  but 
hardly  any  blood  was  shed.  In  1856  Lawrence,  the  free- 
soil  center,  was  burned,  and  murders  became  frequent.  In 
that  year  also  John  Brown  began  to  take  a  part  in  the  strug 
gle,  and  he,  with  his  family  and  neighbors,  murdered  five  of 
the  proslavery  party  in  what  is  known  as  the  Pottawatomie 
massacre.  Buchanan  professed  an  intention  to  observe 
a  policy  of  fair  play  between  the  contending  factions,  and 
appointed  Robert  J.  Walker,  an  able  and  honest  man,  as 
governor.  (Under  him  an  election  for  the  territorial  legisla 
ture  was  held,  which  was  fairly  conducted  and  which  resulted 
in  the  choice  of  a  free-soil  majority.  H  Before  this  new  legis 
lature  could  meet,  however,  a  convention,  called  by  the  first 
or  proslavery  legislature  and  elected  under  such  conditions 
as  to  give  it  a  proslavery  majority,  came  together.  This 
convention  met  in  the  proslavery  town  of  Lecompton,  and 
proceeded  to  frame  a  constitution  under  which  Kansas 
should  apply  for  admission  as  a  state.  It  was  afraid 
to  submit  the  results  of  its  work  to  popular  vote,  for 
under  Governor  Walker  rejection  would  be  inevitable. 
It  was  decided  to  declare  the  result  final  without  a  popu 
lar  vote,  but  to  forestall  congressional  criticism  on  this 
point,  by  allowing  the  people  to  vote  as  to  whether  they 
would  have  the  constitution  with  or  without  slavery.  This 
was  less  fair  than  it  appeared,  for  the  protection  of  all  slave 
property  already  in  the  territory  was  provided  for  under  all 
circumstances,  and  the  only  point  upon  which  the  people 
actually  could  vote  was  whether  or  not  they  would  allow 
further  importation.  The  Free-Soilers  refused  to  vote,  and 
consequently  the  constitution  with  slavery  was  reported 
adopted,  and  the  admission  of  Kansas  under  it  was  recom 
mended  by  Buchanan  on  February  3,  1858. 

Again  acrimonious  discussion  broke  out.     Jefferson  Davis  The  Lecomp- 
stated  that  if  the  North  had  not  attacked  slavery,  all  would 


348  BREAKING  OF  THE  BONDS  OF  UNION 

have  been  well,  but  the  contest  once  begun,  the  South  must 
win  or  slavery  was  doomed.  Already  the  free  states  stood 
sixteen  to  fifteen.  The  admission  of  Minnesota  in  May, 
1858,  was  impending.  Oregon  had  a  southern  population 
and  Democratic  politics,  but  when  admitted  in  1859,  chose 
to  be  free.  New  Mexico  was  not  ready  for  statehood,  and  so 
Kansas  was  necessary  to  the  South  to  help  redress  the  balance. 
On  the  other  hand,  Douglas  did  not  dare  and  did  not  desire 
to  support  the  Lecompton  constitution.  He  had  for  four 
years  been  advocating  emphatically  the  principle  that  the 
people  should  decide,  and  he  could  not  support  a  scheme 
which  openly  thwarted  the  popular  will.  He  broke  with 
the  administration  and  exerted  all  his  influence  to  defeat 
the  plan.  Douglas  was  defeated  in  the  Senate,  but  in  the 
House  his  supporters,  known  as  the  Anti-Lecompton  Demo 
crats,  uniting  with  the  Republicans,  won.  After  long  debate  a 
compromise  was  at  length  agreed  to,  known  as  the  English  Bill. 
This  admitted  Kansas  under  the  Lecompton  constitution  on 
condition  that  the  people  should  vote  to  accept  the  customary 
land  grants  instead  of  the  larger  land  grants  that  had  been 
demanded.  Should  the  vote  be  adverse,  admission  under  a 
new  constitution  was  to  be  deferred  until  the  population  should 
be  as  great  as  that  of  the  average  congressional  district ;  and 
no  provision  was  made  for  any  land  grants.  The  majority 
in  Kansas,  however,  voted  against  the  proposition,  and  thus 
ended  the  chance  of  the  South  to  obtain  it  as  a  slave  state.  ^ 
Position  of  Douglas  now  became  the  center  of  all  political  attention. 

He  had  been  regarded  as  the  probable  candidate  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  the  next  election,  but  his  opposition  to 
the  Lecompton  constitution  had  brought  him  into  open  hos 
tility  to  the  administration  and  endangered  his  southern 
support.  Such  a  reversal  of  attitude  did  this  seem,  that 
Horace  Greeley  and  other  Republicans  pronounced  him  the 
best  candidate  for  their  party.  {  His  future  was  determined 
by  a  contest  into  which  he  immediately  entered  for  reelec- 


THE   LINCOLN-DOUGLAS  DEBATES  349 

tion  as  United  States  senator  from  Illinois.  That  state  was  Illinois  as  a 
particularly  well  fitted  to  be  the  battleground  of  contending  critical  state 
opinions  on  the  question  at  issue.  The  first  settlement  had 
been  from  the  South,  and  the  southern  element  had  filled 
in  the  lower  end  of  the  state,  which  came  to  be  known  as 
Egypt,  with  its  commercial  center  at  Cairo.  This  element 
had  pressed  northward  and,  in  the  middle  portion,  occupied 
those  districts  which  were  covered  with  a  growth  of  hardwood 
timber.  About  1830  emigrants  from  New  England  and  New 
York  began  to  come  in  by  way  of  the  Lakes.  Chicago  com 
menced  its  wonderful  growth,  and  this  northern  element 
obtained  control  of  the  northern  portion  of  the  state.  In  the 
middle  regions  the  northerners  came  to  predominate  in  the 
prairie  country,  which  the  southerners  had  failed  to  occupy. 
In  general,  these  facts  determined  the  politics  of  the  state. 
Not  that  every  one  of  southern  origin  took  one  side  and 
every  one  of  northern  origin  took  the  other.  Abraham 
Lincoln,  the  leader  of  the  Republicans,  was  born  in  Kentucky, 
and  Douglas  himself  in  Vermont.  Nevertheless,  throughout 
this  period,  not  only  in  Illinois,  but  in  Indiana  and  Ohio  as 
well,  a  knowledge  of  the  history  of  settlement  is  a  key  to  the 
course  of  politics.  In  1856,  in  eight  southern  counties  of 
Illinois,  Fremont  received  an  average  of  less  than  ten  votes 
each.  It  was  not  that  there  was  a  love  for  slavery  as  an 
institution  in  the  southern  counties.  Illinois  had  distinctly 
refused  to  establish  slavery  even  before  the  coming  of  the 
northerners,  but  there  was  less  abhorrence  of  slavery,  and 
more  appreciation  of  Douglas's  principle  of  popular  sover 
eignty.  It  was  another  conflict  between  the  southern  belief 
in  personal  independence  and  the  northern  desire  to  regulate 
the  life  of  the  community. 

The  Illinois  Republicans  nominated  Lincoln  for  senator ;  The  Lincoln- 
and  a  series  of  seven  debates  was  arranged,  two  in  the  north- 
ern  section,  two  in  Egypt,  and  three  in  the  intermediate 
district.     Upon  Lincoln  rested  the  burden  of  attack,  and  he 


350  BREAKING  OF  THE  BONDS   OF   UNION 

vigorously  undertook  the  task.  In  the  first  place,  he  wished 
to  show  that  Douglas  was  unfitted  to  serve  as  Republican 
leader.  This  was  brought  out  most  emphatically  by  Doug 
las's  own  statement  that  he  did  not  care  whether  slavery 
was  voted  up  or  down  in  the  territories.  The  ;  Republicans 
did  care,  and  this  difference  in  sentiment  was  a  greater  ob 
stacle  to  an  alliance  than  any  number  of  differences  on  partic 
ular  questions.  Lincoln  was  still  more  anxious  to  make 
Douglas  an  impossible  candidate  for  southern  Democrats. 
To  accomplish  this,  and  to  make  impossible  a  further  union  of 
inharmonious  elements  under  the  ambiguous  phrase  of  popu 
lar  sovereignty,  it  was  only  necessary  to  bring  out  in  a  sol 
emn  public  manner  the  essential  difference  between  Douglas's 
principle  of  squatter  sovereignty  and  the  southern  principle, 
now  confirmed  by  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  of  non-interven 
tion.  He  therefore  asked  Douglas  whether,  after  the  Dred 
Scott  decision,  it  was  possible  for  any  territory  by  its  own  ac 
tion  to  prohibit  slavery  ?  If  Douglas  answered  that  it  was 
not,  the  whole  principle  of  squatter  sovereignty  fell ;  if  he  said 
that  it  could,  it  would  be  equivalent  to  saying  that  the  Dred 
Scott  decision  was  without  force.  If  he  took  the  first  posi 
tion,  he  was  almost  sure  to  lose  the  election  in  Illinois ;  if 
the  second,  he  would  lose  the  support  of  the  South  for  the 
presidency.  It  was  not  that  Lincoln  created  this  dilemma ; 
he  merely  made  absolutely  plain  an  actual  condition  which 
had  existed  for  four  years.  Douglas  answered  that,  while 
the  Constitution,  as  interpreted  by  the  Supreme  Court, 
allowed  slavery  throughout  the  territories,  that  institution 
could  not  exist  without  friendly  local  legislation,  and,  there 
fore,  a  territorial  government  could,  if  so  disposed,  actually 
prevent  its  existence. 

A  further  purpose  of  Lincoln  in  the  debate  was  to  bring 
home  to  the  voters  the  fact  that  the  Dred  Scott  decision 
involved  not  an  abstract  legal  principle,  but  one  of  imme 
diate  interest  to  the  people  of  the  states  as  well  as  of  the 


ELECTION  OF  1858  351 

territories.     In  the  speech  at  Springfield,  in  which  he  accepted  The  na- 
the  nomination,  he  pointed  out  that  there  was  imminent  pectsof 


jeopardy  that  slavery  might  be  made  a  national  institution. 
"'A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand.'  I  believe 
this  government  cannot  endure  permanently  half  slave  and 
half  free."  If  the  Dred  Scott  decision  was  correct  in  assert 
ing  that  slave  property  in  the  territories  was  under  the  aegis 
of  the  Constitution,  might  not  a  subsequent  decision,  follow 
ing  the  same  line  of  argument,  declare  that  such  property 
must  be  protected  wherever  found,  even  in  a  free  state? 
Lincoln  accused  Douglas  of  being  involved  with  Pierce, 
Buchanan  ,  and  Taney  in  a  conspiracy  to  bring  about  such  a 
result.  This  charge  could  not  stand  investigation,  but  the 
danger  to  which  he  called  attention  was  not  imaginary. 
Already  in  New  York  state  the  Lemmon  case,  which  in 
volved  the  status  of  slaves  accompanying  persons  passing 
through  a  free  state,  was  on  the  way  to  the  Supreme  Court. 
It  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  the  Court  would  have 
decided  as  Lincoln  feared.  The  Republicans  felt  it  necessary 
to  control  the  Court  and  reverse  its  decision.  '  All  together 
the  most  important  result  of  the  debate  was  the  fact  that  it 
brought  Lincoln  to  the  attention  of  the  nation.  N, 

Douglas   secured   the   legislature   and    the   senatorship,  Election  of 
but  the  Republicans  cast  the  larger  aggregate  vote.  '.  The  l8s8' 
northern  counties  were  growing  more  rapidly  than  the  rest 
of  the  state,  and   therefore  the   legislative  apportionment, 
made  several  years  before,  favored  the  Democrats.    In  the 
other  northern  states  the  Republicans  were  generally  success 
ful.     When  the  election  was  complete,  it  was  found  that 
the  next  Congress  would  contain  :  in  the  Senate,  38  Demo-  The  new 
crats,  25   Republicans,  and   2  Americans;    in  the  House,  Con*fress- 
88  Administration  Democrats,   13  Anti-Lecompton  Demo 
crats,  27  Americans,  and  109  Republicans.     The  failure  of 
any  one  party  to  control  a   majority  again  produced  a 
deadlock  in  the  election  of  Speaker,  which  lasted  over  two 


352  BREAKING  OF  THE   BONDS  OF  UNION 

months,  and  which  was  marked  by  growing  evidence  of  bad 
feeling.  The  Republican  candidate  was  John  Sherman  of 
Ohio,  but  it  was  brought  up  against  him  that  he  had  indorsed 
a  book  which  at  this  time  created  a  sensation  almost  equal 
to  that  of  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin.  This  was  The  Impending 
Crisis,  written  by  Hinton  R.  Helper  of  North  Carolina,  and 
containing  a  scathing  denunciation  of  slavery,  based  not 
upon  moral,  but  upon  economic  grounds,  and  upon  a  demand 
for  justice,  not  for  the  negro,  but  for  the  poor  white.  The 
opposition  was  strong  enough  to  defeat  Sherman,  and  cause 
the  election  of  William  Pennington,  a  more  conservative 
Republican. 

John  Brown.  The  speakership  contest  was  eclipsed  in  importance  by 
an  episode  which  brought  home  to  the  East  the  violence  of 
Kansas,  and  which  illustrates  the  unnatural  condition  of 
northern  sentiment  as  the  Brooks  incident  illustrates  that 
of  the  South.  John  Brown  was  a  virile  old  man,  of  the  most 
extreme  reformer  type.  His  mental  outlook  was  so  nar 
row  that  he  approached  monomania,  and  his  feeling  was  so 
intense  that  he  was  not  content  with  the  usual  methods  of 
the  abolitionists,  but  believed  that  he  was  chosen  of  God  to 
act  as  His  strong  right  arm.  He  had  that  living  conviction 
which  makes  warriors,  and  the  magnetism  of  an  honest  man. 
He  was  among  the  early  free-soil  settlers  in  Kansas,  and  took 
an  active  and  bloody  part  in  the  local  contests  there.  He 
then  conceived  the  broader  scheme  of  establishing  himself 
in  the  mountains  of  the  South,  and  creating  a  refuge  to  which 
slaves  could  fly.  \  Gradually  he  would  extend  his  operations 
and  would  render  slavery  impossible  throughout  the  South. 
He  planned  to  guide  and  govern  the  negroes,  and  lead  them 
to  a  peaceful  mode  of  life;  but  the  possibility  that  his  plan 
might  be  accompanied  with  bloodshed,  while  he  guarded 
against  it,  did  not  distress  him,  for  he  believed  that  all  slave 
owners  were  sinners.  He  had  said  in  Kansas:  "I  have  no 
choice.  It  has  been  decreed  by  Almighty  God,  ordained  from 


JOHN  BROWN  353 

eternity,  that  I  should  make  an  example  of  these  men." 
On  October  16,  1859,  he  seized  the  government  arsenal  at 
Harpers  Ferry.  Attacked  there  by  government  forces,  he 
resisted,  and  was  captured.  He  was  tried  at  Charlestown  in 
Virginia,  convicted  of  treason  and  murder,  and  hanged.  The 
southern  states  were  panic-stricken  at  this  seeming  approach 
of  slave  insurrection,  which  they  always  dreaded.  Every 
where  the  militia  was  put  in  order  and  the  military  resources 
of  the  states  were  strengthened',  Radical  orators  held  the 
North  responsible  for  the  attack,  and  began  openly  to  declare 
that  a  union  was  unnatural  where  one  party  to  it  threatened 
the  very  life  of  the  other. 

Northern  sentiment,  however,  is  most  significant.  While  Northern 
much  the  greater  number  of  northerners  condemned  the  raid,  j0hn  Brown, 
perhaps  a  majority  sympathized  with  John  Brown.  Emer 
son  referred  to  him  as  "that  new  saint,  than  whom  none 
purer  or  more  brave  was  ever  led  by  love  of  men  into  con 
flict  and  death,  the  new  saint  awaiting  his  martyrdom,  and 
who,  if  he  shall  suffer,  will  make  the  gallows  glorious  like 
the  cross."  While  only  four  or  five  men  in  the  North  had 
been  acquainted  with  his  purposes,  these  were  sane,  lovable 
gentlemen,  and  their  acquiescence  in  a  scheme  which  might 
have  deluged  the  South  in  blood,  is  one  of  the  most  striking 
manifestations  of  how  far  from  the  normal  the  public  mind 
had  wandered.  John  Brown  may  have  been  insane,  but  he 
was  not  a  madman  blindly  striking  in  the  dark ;  his  insanity 
received  its  direction  from  the  vibrant  mental  atmosphere 
about  him.  Although  his  plans  were  approved  by  but  few 
in  the  North,  the  South  was  justified  in  regarding  him,  not 
as  an  isolated  assailant,  but  as  a  product  of  a  sentiment,  not 
yet  dominant,  but  growing  every  day  more  powerful.  At  the 
North,  also,  the  years  1859  and  1860  saw  a  growing  interest 
in  military  affairs.  Military  companies  and  regiments  were 
formed  almost  every  week,  military  exhibitions  were  popular, 
and  the  New  York  Zouaves  went  to  Chicago  to  drill.  There 


354  BREAKING  OF  THE   BONDS  OF   UNION 

was  no  purpose  to  use  their  arms  against  the  South,  but 
there  was  that  unrest  which  so  often  precedes  hostilities. 
Break-up  of  Under  such  circumstances  the  Democratic  national  con- 

cratic  party,  vention  met  at  Charleston,  to  determine  the  momentous 
question  whether  party  unity  could  be  restored.  The  majority, 
coming  almost  wholly  from  the  northern  and  border  states, 
pinned  their  faith  to  Douglas,  but  over  a  third  of  the  mem 
bers,  delegates  from  the  Cotton  States,  could  not  trust  him, 
and  blocked  his  nomination.  Finally,  the  most  extreme 
southerners  seceded  from  the  convention,  which  adjourned 
to  meet  again  at  Baltimore.  There  Douglas  was  nomi 
nated,  though  not  without  some  irregularity,  and  the  follow 
ing  resolution  was  adopted:  "That  it  is  in  accordance  with 
the  interpretation  of  the  Cincinnati  platform  [of  1856],  that, 
during  the  existence  of  the  territorial  governments,  the 
measure  of  restriction,  whatever  it  may  be,  imposed  by  the 
Federal  Constitution  on  the  power  of  the  territorial  legis 
lature  over  the  subject  of  domestic  relations,  as  the  same  has 
been,  or  shall  hereafter  be  finally  determined  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  should  be  respected  by  all  good 
citizens,  and  enforced  with  promptness  and  fidelity  by  every 
branch  of  the  general  government."  A  second  secession 
took  place  at  Baltimore,  which  resulted  in  the  choice  of 
J.  C.  Breckinridge  of  Kentucky,  the  Vice  President  under 
Buchanan,  as  candidate  for  President  on  a  platform  of  which 
the  distinguishing  feature  was  the  resolution:  "That  the 
government  of  a  territory  organized  by  an  act  of  Congress 
is  provisional  and  temporary;  and  during  its  existence,  all 
citizens  of  the  United  States  have  an  equal  right  to  settle 
with  their  property  in  the  territory,  without  their  rights, 
either  of  person  or  of  property,  being  destroyed  or  impaired 
by  congressional  legislation,"  and  "That  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
federal  government,  in  all  its  departments,  to  protect,  when 
necessary,  the  rights  of  persons  and  property  in  the  terri 
tories,  and  wherever  else  its  constitutional  authority  extends." 


POLITICAL  PARTIES  IN   1860  355 

The  difference  between  the  two  platforms  lay  in  the  fact  that  > 
the  one  stated  that  citizens  of  the  territories  should  obey  the  I 
Dred  Scott  decision,  the  other  that  the  national  government 
was  bound  to  make  them  obey  it.  Breckinridge  and  his 
platform  were  indorsed  by  the  Charleston  seceders  at  a  meet 
ing  held  in  Richmond,  and  were  supported  by  Buchanan  and 
the  administration.  Thus  the  fundamental  disagreement 
between  the  southern  and  northern  Democrats  became 
visible,  and  that  great  party,  the  last  important  political 
organization  which  had  vitally  bound  North  and  South 
together,  was  torn  asunder.  Neither  part  could  claim  to  be 
the  regular  representative  of  the  whole.  Really  Douglas 
was  the  Democratic  organization  candidate  in  the  North; 
Breckinridge,  in  the  South. 

The  Republican  convention  met  at  Chicago,  its  managers  Nomination 
realizing  that  the  Northwest  must  largely  determine  the  ofLmcoln- 
election.  Seward  was  the  leading  candidate,'  and  was  uni 
versally  recognized  as  the  most  prominent  Republican,  but 
he  was  regarded  by  many  as  too  radical  to  be  elected.  Natu 
rally  a  man  of  conservative,  temporizing  disposition,  he 
sometimes  yielded  to  an  impulsiveness,  especially  in  speech, 
which  caused  him  to  be  distrusted.  Perhaps  two  of  his 
phrases,  "the  higher  law,"  and  "the  irrepressible  con 
flict,"  defeated  his  nomination.  They  really  indicated  a 
constitutional  defect  which  rendered  him  unsuited  for  the 
presidency,  for,  unlike  Lincoln's  radical  statement  that  a 
"house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand,"  they  did  not 
represent  a  clear-cut  belief  upon  which  he  was  prepared  to 
act,  but  rather  a  momentary  flash  of  insight,  soon  clouded 
in  his  mind,  as  the  phrases  were  moderated  in  his  speech,  by 
suggestions  of  shadowy  expedients,  and  a  genial  glow  of 
unconvincing  optimism.  When  his  defeat  became  evident, 
the  contest  was  thrown  open.  Lincoln,  as  the  rival  of 
Douglas,  was  really  the  logical  candidate.  The  shouting  of 
the  Chicago  mob  proved  his  popularity  in  the  doubtful  state 


BREAKING  OF  THE  BONDS  OF  UNION 


The  Consti 
tutional 
Union  party. 


The  cam- 

ppjjrn  of 

2860. 


of  Illinois.  He  was  nominated  on  the  third  ballot.  The 
most  important  feature  of  the  platform,  aside  from  the 
unequivocal  declaration  on  the  territorial  question.,  was  the 
plank  favoring  a  protective  tariff,  which  was,  perhaps,  re 
sponsible  for  the  subsequent  Republican  success  in  Pennsyl 
vania. 

The  American  party  of  1856  became  the  Constitutional 
Union  party  of  1860.  It  chose  as  its  candidates,  John  Bell 
of  Tennessee  and  Edward  Everett  of  Massachusetts.  It 
did  not  attempt  to  define  its  attitude  on  the  great  issues  of 
the  day,  but  called  upon  all  citizens  to  support  its  candidates, 
who  were  known  to  be  loyal  supporters  of  the  Union  and  to 
place  the  preservation  of  the  Union  before  all  else. 

As  in  every  campaign  since  1854,  there  was  one  conflict 
in  the  free  states,  and  another  south  of  the  Mason-Dixon  line. 
In  the  North,  Lincoln  ran  against  the  field.  His  opponents 
sometimes  combined  as  in  New  Jersey  and  New  York,  but 
in  most  states  there  were  four  tickets.  The  Republicans 
emphasized  the  slavery  question,  especially  appealing  to  the 
labor  vote.  J.  M.  Forbes  had  written  in  December,  1856  : 
"  All  other  influences  sink  into  insignificance  compared  with 
that  brought  to  bear  for  two  years  past,  and  especially  dur 
ing  the  past  four  months,  from  the  stump  and  by  the  tremen 
dous  machinery  of  the  campaign  press,  to  convince  the 
laboring  classes  here  of  the  aristocratic  nature  of  the  institu 
tion  of  slavery  ;  of  the  small  number  of  slaveholders  com 
pared  with  the  white  population  North  and  South,  and  of 
the  coming  issue  being  whether  this  small  class  (supposed  to 
rule  the  South)  shall  own  half  the  Senate  and  shall  use  the 
national  arm  to  extend  their  institutions  at  home  and 
abroad."  In  August,  1860,  Carl  Schurz  said  at  St.  Louis: 
"In  the  North,  every  laborer  thinks,  and  is  required  to  think. 
In  the  South  the  laborer  is  forbidden  to  think,  lest  he  think 
too  much,  for  thought  engenders  aspirations.  .  .  .  Our 
laboring  man  must  be  a  free  man,  in  order  to  be  what  he 


I 1  Republican 

Breckinridge  De 
I         I  Douglas  « 

I          I  Constitutional  Union 
I          |  Divided 


I 


Breckinridge  Democratic  Plurality 
|  Douglas 
[ Constitutional  Union  " 

Counties  for  which  nC,  returns  were  given  or  whose  returns 
were  throwi_  o>it  r.re,  ^ov  the  most  partileft  blank.  III  some  cases, 
dSjjeciallyvinVexar,  'tiiey  are- colored  according  to  the  returns  of 
some  other  election,  if  this  ser}-cd,to  give  a  fair  indication  of  the 
situation.  AioVj  Jthe  fron^Vr  the  Blanks  generally  represent  un- 
settl-'c^  r«gjions.  "  'n  ,  ,  fr  /  °  '•  '  ,  n 

In  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey  the  vote  given  as 
for  Douglas  was  cast  for  a  Fusion  ticket  in  opposition  to  Lincoln. 


In  South  Carolina  there  was  no 
popular  vote,  the  electors  beinsj 
>seii  by    the  leg-islature;    they 
Breckinridge  Democrats. 


PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION    \.  \A  ;  •  : -.- ; ;  <.  , 

IN  THE  XU     ^ 

UNITED  STATES 
1860 

Popular  Tote  by  Counties 


ELECTION  OF   1860  357 

ought  to  be,  an  intelligent  laborer.  Therefore,  we  educate 
him  for  liberty  by  our  system  of  public  instruction.  .  .  . 
Your  laboring  man  must  be  a  brute  in  order  to  remain  what 
you  want  him  to  be,  a  slave.  ...  On  your  plantation  fields 
stands  another  institution,  from  which  your  system  of  labor 
derives  its  inspiration;  that  is  your  schoolhouse,  where 
your  slaves  are  flogged."  The  Bell  and  Breckinridge  orators 
in  the  North  dwelt  on  the  advantage  of  the  Union  and  the 
dangers  to  which  it  was  exposed.  They  called  upon  the  people 
to  defend  the  Constitution  and  the  Supreme  Court,  and  to 
avoid  the  evils  of  a  protective  tariff  such  as  the  Republicans 
proposed.  The  Douglas  men  appealed  to  Democratic 
regularity,  and  popular  rights  as  represented  in  the  principle 
of  squatter  sovereignty. 

In  the  South,  Breckinridge  was  opposed  by  Bell  and 
Douglas.  The  latter,  believing  that  Breckinridge  repre 
sented  the  most  dangerous  radicalism,  canceled  his  engage 
ments  in  the  West,  where  he  had  a  fighting  chance  of  winning 
votes,  and  made  a  tour  of  the  South,  where  the  utmost  result 
of  his  endeavors  could  be  to  turn  the  states  from  Breckin 
ridge  to  Bell.  The  Bell  orators  charged  the  Buchanan 
administration,  which  was  supporting  Breckinridge,  with 
corruption,  and  tried  to  rally  the  old  Whig  vote  for  reform. 
They  also  accused  Breckinridge  of  favoring  secession.  Breck^ 
inridge  and  his  followers  urged  the  South  to  unite  in  support 
of  its  rights. 

The  election  revealed  three  sections.    Lincoln  swept  the   The 
North  by  a  popular  vote  of  1,840,037  to  1,565,038,  carried  ofei&6o. 
all  the  electoral  votes  to  the  Mason-Dixon  line,  except  three 
in  New  Jersey,  and  was  elected.     Breckinridge  swept  the 
Cotton  South  by  a  popular  vote  of  220,469  to   173,314, 
carrying  all  its  electoral  votes.     In  the  middle  region,  how 
ever,  the  majority  favored  Bell  and  Douglas,  the  representa 
tives  of  conservatism  and  compromise.  <  In  the  eight  states 
of  the  upper  South  they  secured  506,102  popular  votes  to 


358 


BREAKING  OF  THE  BONDS  OF  UNION 


377,002,  and  48  electors  to  25.  They  were  also  strong  in 
the  northern  portion  of  the  Ohio  River  valley.  Taking  the 
country  as  a  whole,  Lincoln  and  Breckinridge,  the  radical 
candidates,  received  2,747,233  votes  to  1,856,836  for  Bell 
and  Douglas,  and  252  to  51  electors.  Northern  radicalism 
won  the  North,  southern  radicalism  won  the  South,  and  the 
middle  region  was  for  inaction  with  regard  to  slavery. 


Sources, 


Historical 
accounts. 

Kansas- 
Nebraska. 


Kansas 
situation. 


Rise  of  the 
Republican 
party. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

For  the  Kansas-Nebraska  debate  —  if  the  Congressional 
Globe  is  not  available  —  American  History  Leaflets,  nos.  2,  17. 
Johnston,  A.,  Representative  American  Orations,  II,  183-255.  For 
conditions  in  Kansas,  the  report  of  the  investigation  committee, 
U.  S.  Documents,  House  Reports,  34th  Cong.,  i  sess.,  vol.  II,  no.  200, 
is  more  vivid  than  any  secondary  account.  For  the  Dred  Scott 
case,  American  History  Leaflets,  no.  23 ;  Hill,  Liberty  Documentst 
ch.  XXI;  19  Howard,  399.  For  conservative  northern  opinion, 
Choate,  R.,  Works,  II,  387-414.  For  Republican  opinion,  Lin 
coln,  A.,  His  Book;  Lincoln,  A.,  Works,  I,  277-518.  Lincoln 
and  Douglas,  Debates.  Sanborn,  F.  B.,  Life  and  Letters  of  John 
Brown.  Sumner,  C.,  Works,  IV,  137-256.  On  the  election, 
McPherson,  E.,  History  of  the  Rebellion,  American  Cyclopedia, 
1 86 1,  46-420. 

Brown,  W.  G.,  Douglas.  Hart,  Chase,  ch.  V.  Higginson, 
T.  W.,  Phillips.  Hodder,  F.  H.,  Genesis  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
Act  (Wis.  His.  Soc.,  Proceedings,  1912).  Mason,  V.,  Fugitive  Slave 
Law  in  Wisconsin  (Wis.  His.  Soc.,  Proceedings,  vol.  43,  117- 
143).  McDougall,  M.  G.,  Fugitive  Slaves,  sees.  53-62;  ch.  V- 
Rhodes,  United  States,  I,  424-506.  Smith,  T.  C.,  Parties  and 
Slavery,  121-149.  Stephens,  War  between  the  States,  II,  240-257. 

Jameson,  J.,  Constitutional  Conventions,  sees.  211-216. 
Rhodes,  J.  F.,  United  States,  II,  chs.  VII,  IX.  Stephens,  War 
between  the  States,  II,  colloquy  XVII. 

Bancroft,  F.,  Seward,  I,  chs.  XIX,  XX.  Blaine,  J.  G.,  Twenty 
Years  in  Congress,  I,  ch.  VI.  [James  Buchanan],  Mr.  Buchanan's 
Administration.  Curtis,  Buchanan,  II,  chs.  VI,  VIII-XI.  Hart, 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  359 

Chase,  ch.  VI.    Rhodes,  United  States,  II,  ch.  VII-VIII.     Smith, 
Parties  and  Slavery,  161-174. 

Benton,  T.  H.,  Historical  and  Legal  Examination.     Corwin,   TheDred 
E.  S.,   The  Dred  Scott  Decision  (Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,  Review,  XVII, 
52-69).     Grey  and  Lowell,  Legal  Review  of  the  Case  of  Dred  Scott. 
Rhodes,  United  States,  II,  242-277.     Smith,  Parties  and  Slavery, 
190-209. 

Johnson,  A.,  Life  of  Douglas.  Nicolay  and  Hay,  Life  of  Lincoln- 
Lincoln,  vol.  I.  Rhodes,  United  States,  II,  384-416.  Smith,  £°ugLM 
Parties  and  Slavery,  209-249,  286-305. 

The  best  life  of  John  Brown  is  that  by  C.  G.  Villard.  John  Brown. 

Blaine,  J.  G.,  Twenty  Years  in  Congress,  chs.  VTII-X.     Fite,   Election  of 
E.  D.,  Campaign  of  1860.    Nicolay  and  Hay,  Life  of  Lincoln,  II,    l86°' 
chs.  X-XVI.     Rhodes,  United  States,  II,  chs.  X,  XI.     Stephens, 
A.  H.,  War  between  the  States,  II,  colloquy  XVIII.    Wilson,  H., 
Slave  Power,  II,  chs.  XLIII,  XLIV,  XLVII-LV. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
DIVISION 

ALL  national  party  organizations  had  broken  down,  three 
of  the  five  great  chuizh  organizations  had  become  section  - 
alized,  the  Constitution  almost  alone  held  the  country  to 
gether,  and  the  election  of  Lincoln  was  taken  as  a  signal  for 
its  dissolution. 

Secession  In  the  state  of  South  Carolina  there  was  such  unity  of  sen- 

CaroHna.  timent  that  discussion  and  delay  were  unnecessary.  Gov 
ernor  Gist  had  already  called  together  the  legislature  to  choose 
presidential  electors,  and  to  provide  "for  the  safety  and  pro 
tection  of  the  state."  When  it  met,  on  November  5,  he 
recommended  that  if  Lincoln  were  declared  elected,  a  con 
vention  similar  to  that  which  in  1788  had  adopted  the  Con 
stitution  be  immediately  called  to  consider  the  question  of 
separation  from  the  Union.  November  21  was  set  apart  as 
a  day  of  prayer  and  preparation.  On  December  17,  the 
convention  met,  and  on  December  20,  it  passed  unanimously 
an  "Ordinance  of  Secession,"  and  adopted  a  "Declaration  of 
Causes"  to  be  published  to  the  world.  The  latter  set  forth 
that  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  had  been  adopted 
as  an  experiment,  that  it  had  worked  constantly  to  the  dis 
advantage  of  the  South,  that  the  character  of  the  govern 
ment  had  gradually  changed  from  a  federal  organization  to 
a  consolidated  democracy,  and  that  the  election  of  a  Presi 
dent  by  a  purely  sectional  party  made  it  unsafe  for  South 
Carolina  longer  to  remain  as  a  member  of  the  Union.  Com 
missioners  were  sent  to  Washington  to  arrange  for  a  division 
of  government  property  and  of  the  national  debt;  and  to 
other  southern  states  to  secure  cooperation, 

360 


ATTEMPTS  AT  COMPROMISE  361 

While  this  was  taking  place  the  national  administration  Buchanan 
remained  passive.  It  happened  that  the  commander-in-  sk>n.Sec 
chief  of  the  army  was  General  Winfield  Scott,  to  whom 
Jackson  had  in  1833  given  orders  for  the  enforcement  of  the 
federal  laws  in  South  Carolina  when  that  state  nullified  the 
tariff.  He  recommended  that  similar  orders  be  given  now. 
Buchanan,  however,  feared  that  to  do  so  might  cause  the 
secession  movement  to  spread,  southern  sentiment  being 
extremely  sensitive  to  anything  that  might  be  construed  as 
coercion.  When  Congress  met,  on  December  3,  he  sent  in 
his  message  stating  that  secession  was  unconstitutional,  was 
in  fact  revolution,  and  that  while  the  South  had  grievances, 
these  were  not  sufficient  to  justify  revolution.  To  placate 
the  doubtful  in  the  South  he  stated  at  length  his  belief  that 
the  national  government  did  not  have  the  right  to  coerce  a 
state,  and  he  left  out  the  view,  which  he  held  in  common  with 
Jeremiah  Black,  the  Attorney- General,  that  it  did  have  the 
right  to  enforce  the  national  laws  within  a  state.  He  there 
fore  offered  Congress  no  plan  of  action,  but  left  the  responsi 
bility  to  that  body. 

Congress  once  more  attempted  to  bind  together  the  diverg-  Attempts  at 
ing  sections  by  compromise.  The  most  prominent  leader 
in  this  movement  was  Senator  Crittenden  of  Kentucky, 
inheritor  of  the  Clay  tradition.  The  plan  which  he  worked 
out  was  considered  by  a  Senate  committee  of  thirteen.  It 
included  a  number  of  measures  intended  to  settle  all  points 
of  difference,  the  most  important  being  a  proposed  constitu 
tional  amendment,  by  which  slavery  should  be  prohibited 
north  of  36°  30'  and  definitely  protected  in  government 
territory  south  of  that  line.  This  plan  was  rejected  on 
December  28  by  the  Republican  senators  after  consulta 
tion  with  Lincoln.  The  ground  upon  which  Lincoln  based 
his  refusal  was  that  if  slavery  should  be  allowed  in  all  terri 
tory  south  of  36°  30',  there  would  follow  immediately  a 
demand  for  the  acquisition  of  more  such  territory.  Already 


362  DIVISION 

in  1860  the  demand  for  Cuba  was  found  in  both  Democratic 
platforms,  and  he  believed  that  it  would  not  be  long  before 
southern  statesmen  would  again  threaten  to  secede  unless 
Cuba  or  northern  Mexico  were  annexed.  It  was  upon  this 
question  of  future  expansion,  too,  that  the  southern  radicals 
definitely  refused  to  compromise.  Lincoln  wrote:  "As 
to  fugitive  slaves,  District  of  Columbia,  slave  trade  among 
the  slave  states,  and  whatever  springs  of  necessity  from  the 
fact  that  the  institution  is  amongst  us,  I  care  but  little  so 
that  what  is  done  be  comely  and  not  altogether  outrageous. 
Nor  do  I  care  much  about  New  Mexico,  if  further  extension 
were  hedged  against."  The  Republicans  on  the  House 
Committee  of  thirty-three,  which  was  considering  compro 
mise,  offered  to  organize  New  Mexico,  containing  all  terri 
tory  south  of  36°  30'  then  belonging  to  the  United  States, 
without  prohibiting  slavery,  but  this  offer  was  rejected. 
Failure  of  A  Peace  Convention,  called  by  Virginia  and  meeting  at 

Jse'  Washington  with  ex-President  Tyler  in  the  chair,  proposed  to 
meet  this  difficulty  incident  to  territorial  expansion,  by  a 
constitutional  amendment  to  the  effect  that  no  territory  be 
annexed  unless  agreed  to  by  a  concurrent  majority  of  the 
senators  from  the  free  states  and  from  the  slave  states.  This 
suggestion,  however,  came  only  just  before  Lincoln's  inau 
guration,  and  was  not  seriously  considered.  One  other 
solution  was  advocated:  to  appeal  from  Congress  to  the 
people  by  submitting  the  Crittenden  compromise  to  popular 
vote.  This  was  defeated  in  the  Senate.  Compromise, 
therefore,  failed.  The  actual  point  of  difference  was  the 
question  of  extending  slavery  beyond  the  existing  national 
boundaries.  The  divergence  between  the  sections,  however, 
must  not  be  measured  by  that  alone,  but  by  the  distance  they 
had  to  stretch  to  come  even  so  near  together.  It  was  not 
this  particular  difference  which  was  the  cause  of  the  war,  but 
rather  the  conflict  of  interests  between  the  sections,  now 
festered  into  misunderstanding  and  distrust  as  a  result  of 


THE  GEORGIA  CONTEST  363 

thirty  years  of  irritation  over  the  slavery  question  as  a 
whole. 

In  the  meantime  the  remaining  cotton  states  were  dis-  The  Georgia 
cussing  secession.     Except  in  South  Carolina  there  was  a  c 
division  of  opinion,  not  as  to  the  constitutionality  of  secession 
but  as  to  its  advisability.     The  most  important  contest  was 
in  Georgia.     Alexander  H.  Stephens  counseled  delay.     He 
argued  that  the  South  had  received  at  least  its  share  of  the 
benefits  of  the  Union ;  that  in  time  the  right  would  win  as  it 
had  in  the  case  of  the  tariff,  which  was  now  almost  on  the 
basis  desired  by  the  South ;  that  the  election  of  Lincoln  was 
not  sufficient  cause  for  disunion;  that  the  Republicans  in 
fact  professed  regard  for  the  constitutional  rights  of  slavery, 
and  that  this  would  be  sufficient,  with  some  few  concessions 
which  might  be  obtained  by  a  convention  of  southern  states 
acting  within  the  Union,  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  South. 

Robert  Toombs  was  the  chief  advocate  of  secession, 
expressing  the  radical  view  that  no  confidence  could  be  given 
to  Republican  professions,  and  that  union  with  the  free 
states  was  dangerous  and  bound  to  be  fatal  to  slavery.  The 
crucial  vote  stood  166  to  130;  but  the  final  vote  on  seces 
sion,  January  19,  stood  280  to  89.  The  whole  discussion  in 
Georgia  was  not  so  much  as  to  whether  "southern  rights" 
should  be  insisted  upon,  or  even  as  to  what  these  rights  were, 
but  as  to  whether  secession  was,  in  the  existing  crisis,  the 
best  means  of  obtaining  them.  When  secession  was  once 
accepted  as  a  policy,  the  great  majority  loyally  accepted 
the  result  and  joined  with  their  late  opponents  in  making  it 
effective.  It  was  not  the  belief  of  the  majority  that  war 
would  result  from  secession.  Prejudices  long  fostered  painted 
the  northerners  as  cowards  who  might  bluster  but  would  not 
fight.  Many  of  the  better  informed  believed  that  the 
northern  Democrats  would  not  tolerate  the  invasion  of  the 
South,  and  if  fighting  occurred  it  would  be  in  the  streets  of 
northern  cities.  While  nearly  all  felt  a  sentimental  regret 


364 


DIVISION 


Secession  of 
the  Cotton 
South. 


The  South 
ern  Con 
federacy. 


at  the  passing  of  the  old  Union,  the  conviction  was  burned 
deep  on  their  minds  that  that  Union  had  been  of  advantage  to 
the  North  and  of  disadvantage  to  the  South.  They  were 
stirred  by  much  the  same  mixture  of  motives  as  the  colonists 
in  1776,  though  there  was  perhaps  a  little  less  of  regret  and 
more  of  anger. 

Contests  similar  to  that  in  Georgia  went  on  in  other 
southern  states,  with  similar  results.  Mississippi  seceded  on 
January  9,  1861,  Florida  on  January  10,  Alabama  on  January 
n,  Louisiana  on  January  26,  and  Texas  on  February  i.  The 
failure  of  compromise  had,  therefore,  been  followed  by  the 
secession  of  all  the  Gulf  States,  those  primarily  given  to  the 
cultivation  of  cotton,  and  to  which  slavery  and  the  plantation 
system  were  most  vital. 

It  was  not  the  intention  of  the  seceding  states  to  remain 
isolated  sovereignties.  They  planned  to  renew  their  union, 
under  conditions  more  favorable  to  themselves,  and  with  the 
old  Constitution  altered  only  so  far  as  to  make  perfectly 
plain  and  evident  the  interpretations  of  it  for  which  they  had 
contended.  Their  plan  was  to  organize  a  confederation 
which  they  would  invite  other  states  to  join,  drawing  them 
one  after  the  other  from  the  old  Union  to  the  new.  They 
believed  that  all  the  slave  states  would  ultimately  take  such 
action,  and  some  wished  to  stop  at  that  point,  with  a  body  of 
states  homogeneous  and  therefore  harmonious.  A  greater 
number  hoped  and  believed  that  the  upper  Mississippi 
valley  would  in  time  find  it  to  its  interest  to  unite  with  the 
new  confederation  through  which  its  great  river  ran  and 
in  which  it  would  find  a  market  for  a  great  portion  of  its 
products.  The  accession  of  the  Northwest,  it  was  thought, 
would  bring  the  Middle  States,  dependent  as  they  were  on 
western  commerce.  New  England  was  to  be  left  beyond  the 
pale.  The  first  step  towards  reconstruction,  according  to 
this  plan,  was  the  meeting  of  delegates  on  February  4,  at 
Montgomery,  to  form  a  southern  confederation.  On  Febru- 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  365 

ary  8  they  adopted  a  provisional  constitution,  and  elected 
Jefferson  Davis,  Provisional  President,  and  Alexander  H. 
Stephens,  Vice  President.  The  new  government  rapidly  com 
pleted  its  organization,  and  the  inauguration  of  Lincoln 
found  a  powerful,  organized  Confederacy,  existing  within  the 
limits  claimed  by  the  Union. 

This  action  had  taken  place  without  active  interference  jnaction  of 
from  the  government  at  Washington.  A  cabinet  crisis  had  menf°Vern 
already  taken  place  at  the  end  of  December,  1860,  on  the  ques 
tion  of  the  defense  of  government  property  in  Charleston 
harbor.  The  southern  members  had  resigned  or  been  re 
moved,  and  they  were  replaced  by  strong  Union  Demo 
crats  of  the  North.  Jeremiah  Black  became  Secretary  of 
State,  Edwin  Stanton,  Attorney-General,  and  John  A.  Dix, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  The  change,  however,  was  chiefly 
in  tone.  Measures  were  taken  to  protect  government  prop 
erty,  but  they  were  ineffective,  and  the  actual  handling  of  the 
situation  was  left  to  the  new  President. 

Though  few  appreciated  it  at  the  time,  Abraham  Lincoln  Character- 
was  a  man  ideally  fitted  to  cope  with  this  greatest  of  all  Lincoln, 
national  crises.  Born  in  1809,  his  tough  and  sinewy  frame 
and  his  strong,  supple  mind  were  at  the  point  of  most  perfect 
harmony.  While  his  parents  were  extremely  poor,  he  had  in 
his  veins  the  blood  of  a  vigorous  stock  drawn  on  the  one  side 
from  New  England  and  on  the  other  from  Virginia.  Nor  was 
his  poverty  of  the  kind  to  breed  envy  or  sycophancy;  he 
was  poor  in  a  community  where  there  were  no  rich.  The 
conditions  of  his  life  developed  in  him  those  abilities  which 
characterized  the  statesmen  of  the  frontier,  but  he  avoided 
the  consequent  dangers.  The  lack  of  early  education  had 
made  Henry  Clay  superficial,  and  Jackson  narrow-minded. 
Lincoln,  who  educated  himself,  was  always  thorough;  he  was 
never  satisfied  unless  he  understood  a  subject  from  the  bot 
tom.  He  was  always  open-minded  and  was  still  consciously 
educating  himself  when  elected  President.  As  President- 


366  DIVISION 

elect,  although  by  diligence  and  by  genius  he  had  become 
master  of  a  style  unsurpassed  for  clearness  and  effectiveness, 
he  asked  the  schoolmaster  at  Springfield  to  correct  the 
grammar  of  his  inaugural  address.  This  humbleness  of 
mind  extended  to  his  political  life.  He  never  conceived 
himself,  as  Webster  sometimes  did,  dictator  of  events,  but  as 
an  instrument  in  the  interplay  of  natural  forces.  When 
he  said  at  Springfield,  in  1858 :  "  A  house  divided  against  it 
self  cannot  stand,"  he  did  not  express  a  purpose,  but  an  ap 
preciation  of  a  great  truth,  which  afforded  him  a  basis  for 
action.  He  was  a  statesman  in  his  adjustment  of  principle 
to  policy.  He  formed  his  political  principles  with  care,  and 
when  convinced  of  their  ultimate  truth,  he  never  sacrificed 
them.  He  did  not,  however,  hurry  their  consummation, 
believing  that  the  right  was  sure  to  triumph  in  the  end.  In 
the  belief  that  the  Union  must  become  all  free  or  all  slave,  he 
worked  to  make  it  free;  but  when  the  Union  itself  was  in 
danger,  he  concentrated  all  his  efforts  on  its  preservation, 
postponing  the  question  of  slavery  until  his  main  object 
should  be  accomplished.  He  had  the  executive  faculty  of 
acting  for  the  better,  when  promptness  was  demanded,  rather 
than  delaying  to  discover  the  best.  He  was  weakest  as  an 
administrator,  sacrificing  efficiency  for  political  advantage. 
As  a  politician  in  both  the  large  and  the  narrow  sense,  he  was 
unrivaled.  He  had  an  unparalleled  insight  into  the  minds 
of  men,  based  on  a  wide  charity  toward  those  who  differed 
from  him.  He  had  the  unusual  capacity  of  regarding  men 
as  individuals  and  not  in  classes,  and  he  appealed  to  the 
common  traits  of  human  nature,  which  underlie  class  or 
sectional  division.  He  had  that  clearness  and  lucidity  of 
mind  that  is  sometimes  called  common  sense,  but  none  of  the 
hardness  which  sometimes  accompanies  it.  He  was,  in  fact, 
primarily  an  idealist.  Otherwise  he  would  not  have  been, 
as  he  was,  preeminently  the  leader  of  the  people.  His  virtues 
of  meekness,  charity,  and  faith  were  the  essential  Christian 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


FORT   SUMTER  367 

virtues,  and  they  were  understood  by  the  nation,  which  was 
by  profession  and  in  its  thought  Christian.  In  crudeness  of 
manner,  as  in  the  substance  of  his  character,  he  was  at  one 
with  a  majority  of  the  people.  He  understood  their  desires 
and  purposes,  and  shaped  his  policies  accordingly ;  they  under 
stood  him,  and  gave  him  increasingly  their  confidence. 

At  his  inauguration  he  set  before  himself  the  preserva-  Northern 
tion  of  the  whole  Union.  Caution  was  necessary,  for,  while 
compromise  had  failed,  the  North  had  not  yet  spoken  on 
the  question  of  coercion  as  opposed  to  peaceful  separation. 
The  abolitionists  had  welcomed  separation,  and  Horace 
Greeley,  General  Scott,  and  many  leading  Democrats  had 
expressed  a  willingness  to  let  the  southern  states  depart 
in  peace.  The  North  had  not  very  generally  believed  in  the 
genuineness  of  the  southern  threats  of  secession  and  had 
not  in  1860  voted  on  the  question  of  union  or  disunion. 
George  Ticknor  remarked  that  there  had  not  been  in  years  so 
much  thinking  on  political  subjects  as  in  the  six  months 
following  the  election  of  Lincoln,  and  that  until  the  people 
had  made  up  their  minds,  the  administration  was  powerless 
to  act.  It  must  be  a  decision  of  the  whole  people,  for  the 
war  could  not  be  fought  by  a  party. 

Each  side  realized  the  importance  of  forcing  the  other  Fort  Sumter 
to  take  action,  and  attention  was  concentrated  upon  Charles 
ton  harbor,  where  the  national  garrison  in  Fort  Sumter  was 
surrounded  by  Confederate  batteries.  On  April  6,  Lincoln 
having  informed  himself  of  the  situation  and  discussed  the 
matter  with  his  cabinet,  caused  the  Confederate  government 
to  be  notified  that  he  would  provision  the  fort.  This  threw 
upon  Davis  and  his  cabinet  the  responsibility  of  action. 
Toombs  protested  against  hostile  measures,  saying,  "You 
will  wantonly  strike  a  hornets'  nest  which  extends  from  moun 
tains  to  ocean,  and  legions  now  quiet  will  swarm  out  and 
sting  us  to  death."  His  prophecy  was  unheeded,  and  on 
April  12  the  Confederate  forts  began  the  bombardment. 


368 


DIVISION 


Decision  of 
the  North. 


Effects  of 
coercion. 


At  the  first  news  of  the  firing  upon  Sumter,  the  North 
rose  almost  en  masse.  Telegram  after  telegram  assured 
Lincoln  that  there  was  now  but  one  party,  and  that,  the  party 
of  the  Union.  Enlistments  and  subscriptions  of  money 
at  once  began,  and  men  who  in  January  were  in  favor  of 
peaceful  separation  now  aided  without  remuneration  in  the 
war  preparations.  This  result  was  inevitable.  The  devo 
tion  of  the  North  to  the  Union  had  been  steadily  growing,  and 
was  now  one  of  its  foremost  political  ideals.  The  northern 
idea  of  liberty  was  that  of  individual  liberty  and  right  to 
participate  in  the  government,  and  not  the  southern  idea 
that  each  community  should  be  allowed  to  follow  its  own 
devices.  The  northern  idea  of  democracy  was  that  the 
majority  should  rule,  and  not  the  southern  idea  that  there 
should  be  as  little  government  as  possible.  The  Union  was 
undoubtedly  more  advantageous  to  the  North  than  to  the 
South.  It  meant  a  market  for  northern  manufacturers, 
employment  for  northern  vessels.  The  Democratic  party, 
which  was  least  interested  in  the  questions  which  brought 
on  the  war,  was  conspicuous  for  its  Union  feeling.  Its  appeal 
for  many  years  had  been  that  the  Union  was  safest  in  its 
hands.  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  who  had  been  one  of  Breckin- 
ridge's  leading  northern  supporters,  was  one  of  the  first  to 
offer  his  services  to  the  President.  The  period  of  hesitation 
was  at  an  end,  and  the  North  was  determined  to  preserve 
the  Union  at  all  hazards. 

With  war  a  fact,  it  was  necessary  for  the  middle  region 
to  make  its  decision.  North  Carolina,  Virginia,  Arkansas, 
and  Tennessee  joined  with  the  South,  as  soon  as  Lincoln, 
on  April  15,  issued  his  proclamation  calling  for  troops.  The 
majority  in  these  states  regarded  secession  as  unjustifiable  and 
preferred  to  remain  in  the  Union.  They  believed,  however, 
in  the  right  of  secession,  and  did  not  believe  in  the  right  of 
the  national  government  to  coerce  a  state.  Their  sympathies 
and  interests,  moreover,  were  southern,  and  when  war  was 


THE  OHIO  VALLEY  369 

inevitable  and  choice  must  be  made,  they  decided  to  stand 
by  the  states  which  they  believed  to  be  acting,  even  though 
unwisely,  within  their  constitutional  rights,  rather  than 
become  the  instruments  of  a  national  government  which  they 
believed  to  be  exceeding  its  constitutional  powers.  The  tide 
of  secession  spirit  swept  up  through  eastern  Maryland.  Mobs 
in  Baltimore  cut  Washington  off  from  railroad  and  tele 
graphic  connection  with  the  North,  while  the  Virginians 
occupied  Harpers  Ferry  and  blocked  it  from  the  west.  The 
lower  Potomac  was  closed  by  Virginian  batteries.  By 
April  21  the  capital  was  in  a  state  of  siege.  In  this  emergency 
the  government  acted  with  vigor.  Communication  with  the 
North  was  reopened  through  Annapolis,  April  25.  Soon 
after,  troops  were  stationed  at  Relay  House,  cutting  Balti 
more  off  from  Harpers  Ferry.  On  May  9  communica 
tion  between  Washington  and  the  North  was  reestablished 
through  Baltimore.  The  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  sus 
pended,  and,  with  this  check  on  the  civil  law,  numerous 
arrests  were  made,  including  members  of  the  city  govern 
ment  of  Baltimore.  In  this  way  Maryland  was  Kept  within 
the  Union.  Probably  a  majority  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
state  would  have  preferred  secession,  but  they  were  held  in 
check  by  the  loyal  element  in  the  western  counties  and  by 
government  action.  The  most  ardent  secessionists  slipped 
away  over  the  Potomac,  and  the  next  elections  were  over 
whelmingly  in  favor  of  the  Union.  With  Maryland,  went 
Delaware,  by  force,  but  also  by  inclination. 

For  no  region  was  the  decision  so  difficult  as   for  the  TheOhfc 
Ohio  valley.    Its  population  was  drawn  most  largely  from  v 
the  South,  but  slavery  and  the  plantation  system  were  not 
its  major  interests.     It  found  in  the  South  a  great  market 
for  its  foodstuffs  and  in  the  Mississippi  its  traditional  outlet, 
but  railroads  and  canals  had  long  been  increasingly  attach 
ing  it  to  the  North  and  East.     Douglas  did  much  to  rally 
this  region  to  the  North  by  a  series  of  speeches  culminating 


370  DIVISION 

at  Chicago  on  May  i.  He  pointed  out  that  the  East  also 
might  secede,  and  that  the  West  would  then  find  itself  shut 
off  from  the  world.  Its  only  safety  was  in  the  inviolability 
of  the  Union.  Dying  on  June  3,  he  left  as  a  last  message  to  his 
sons :  "Tell  them  to  obey  the  laws  and  support  the  Constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States." 

Kentucky.  With  small  hesitation  the  states  on  the  north  bank  rallied 

to  the  Union.  Kentucky,  however,  took  the  whole  summer 
to  decide.  Its  trade  drew  it  both  ways.  The  sympathies  of 
the  rich  "Blue  Grass"  district  were  southern,  but  those  of 
the  mountain  area  and  the  central  small  farming  region 
were  against  slavery  and  the  plantation  economy.  It 
adopted  a  policy  of  neutrality.  Nowhere  is  Lincoln's  skill 
better  shown  than  in  the  differing  policies  he  adopted  for  this 
state  and  for  Maryland.  Unable  to  coerce  Kentucky,  and 
confident  of  her  ultimate  decision,  he  respected  her  neutrality. 
At  the  same  time  he  adopted  many  expedients  to  foster 
Union  sentiment  and  aid  the  Unionists  in  the  state.  The  first 
actual  violation  of  neutrality  came  when  the  Confederate 
government  sent  in  troops  to  occupy  Columbus.  Im 
mediately  the  legislature  abandoned  neutrality  and  voted  to 
support  the  old  Union.  At  least  two  thirds  of  the  population 
favored  this  course,  and  although  about  forty  thousand 
Kentuckians  enlisted  in  the  southern  armies,  its  national 
quotas  were  always  full. 

West  Virginia  State  boundaries,  as  well  as  national,  yielded  to  this 
Tennessee11  supreme  strain.  The  mountain  and  Ohio  valley  portion 
of  Virginia,  long  antagonistic  to  the  dominant  eastern  section, 
broke  away,  formed  a  government  which  claimed  to  represent 
the  whole  state,  and,  with  the  consent  of  this  government, 
applied  to  Congress  for  admission  as  a  new  state.  It  was 
accepted  June  19,  1863,  under  the  title  of  West  Virginia. 
Eastern  Tennessee  and  many  individuals  in  North  Carolina 
desired  to  take  similar  action,  but  mountain  ranges  and 
railroads  delivered  them  into  the  hands  of  the  Confederacy, 


BEYOND  THE  MISSISSIPPI  371 

which  held  them  against  their  will,  as  the  national  government 
held  eastern  Maryland. 

In  Missouri  the  state  government  was  secessionist,  but  Division  be- 
there  was  a  strong  Union  element,  largely  composed  of  old  Mississippi, 
supporters  of  Benton,  now  led  by  Francis  P.  Blair,  Jr.,  and 
the  Germans.  With  the  aid  of  Captain  Lyon,  commanding 
the  United  States  arsenal  at  St.  Louis,  that  city  was  secured 
for  the  Union,  and  a  little  later,  Jefferson  City,  the  capital. 
A  convention  had  been  chosen  in  February  to  decide  the 
question  of  secession.  This  convention,  to  the  surprise  of 
the  legislature  which  called  it,  proved  to  be  strongly  Unionist. 
It  now  declared  itself  the  supreme  representative  of  the 
people,  and,  the  state  government  having  declared  for 
secession  and  joined  the  Confederate  forces,  established  a 
new  and  loyal  state  government.  The  latter  received  con 
stantly  the  support  of  a  majority  of  the  population,  though 
thousands  of  individuals  enlisted  in  the  southern  armies. 
All  the  Pacific  coast,  with  all  the  territories,  remained  with  the 
national  government,  except  that  the  Confederates  occupied 
for  a  time  parts  of  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  Indian  Terri 
tory. 

On  the  whole  the  country  divided  naturally.  Probably  Basis  of 
the  only  districts  held  against  their  will  were  eastern  Mary 
land,  which  was  in  the  hands  of  the  national  government, 
and  eastern  Tennessee,  which  the  Confederacy  controlled. 
Possibly  the  "  Blue  Grass  "  of  Kentucky  would  have  joined  the 
South,  if  it  had  not  formed,  as  it  were,  an  island  surrounded 
by  loyal  districts.  The  people  of  the  border  states  were 
torn  with  conflicting  desires.  In  the  balanced  condition  of 
their  minds  the  motives  which  finally  determined  their 
choice  were  often  trivial.  It  is,  however,  generally  true  that 
the  different  districts  for  the  most  part  followed  the  sym 
pathetic  attraction  of  the  section  to  which  they  were  most 
akin.  At  the  same  time  it  is  probably  equally  true  that 
many  portions  of  the  border  were  strongly  influenced  by  the 


372  DIVISION 

fact  that  the  national  government  was  with  the  North.  If 
the  North  had  seceded  and  the  South  attempted  coercion,  the 
division  would  have  been  rather  different,  but  probably 
not  to  the  extent  of  fifty  thousand  square  miles  or  two 
millions  of  population. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

Sources.  On  the  secession  movement  in  the  South :    American  History 

Leaflet,  no.  12.  [Buchanan,''  J.],  Mr.  Buchanan's  Administration, 
chs.  VI-XI.  Johnston,  A.,  Representative  American  Orations,  III, 
235-274;  294-311.  Lowell,  J.  R.,  Political  Essays,  45-75.  Mc- 
Pherson,  E.,  History  of  the  Rebellion  (see  reference  in  ch.  XIX,  use 
index  for  the  several  states).  On  Lincoln's  policy:  Lincoln,  A., 
Works,  II,  1-66 ;  also  his  inaugurals  which  are  found  in  his  Works, 
in  Richardson's  Messages,  and  many  other  places. 

Historical  Adams,  C.  F.,  C.  F.  Adams,  chs.  VII,  X.     Bancroft,  F.,  Find 

Secession' and  Efforts  at  Compromise  (Political  Science  Quarterly,  VI,  401- 
compromise.  423).  Curtis,  Buchanan,  II,  chs.  XIII-XXII.  Dabney,  R.  L., 
Stonewall  Jackson,  125-196.  Davis,  J.,  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Con 
federate  Government,  I,  247-258.  Fish,  C.  R.,  The  Decision  of 
the  Ohio  Valley  (American  Hist.  Assoc.,  Report,  1910,  155-164). 
Hart,  Chase,  ch.  VIII.  Long,  A.  L.,  Lee,  ch.  V.  Johnson,  A.,  Doug 
las,  442-461.  Mumford,  B.  B.,  Virginia's  Attitude  toward  Slavery, 
pts.  Ill  and  IV.  Phillips,  Georgia  and  State  Rights  (Am.  Hist. 
Assoc.,  Report,  1901,  vol.  II),  ch.  VIII.  PoUard,  E.  A.,  Lost 
Cause,  ch.  V.  Rhodes,  United  States,  III,  chs.  XIII,  XIV. 
Stephens,  A.  H.,  War  between  the  States,  I,  chs.  XI,  XII ;  II,  109- 
130.  Chadwick,  F.  E.,  Causes  of  the  Civil  War,  151-184. 
Lincoln.  Carpenter,  F.  B.,  Six  Months  in  the  White  House.  Chadwick, 

Civil  War,  184-247,  278-343.  Morse,  J.  T.,  Lincoln.  Nicolay 
and  Hay,  Life  of  Lincoln,  II,  ch.  XXIX;  III,  chs.  XVI-XXVI. 
Rhodes,  United  States,  III,  300-354.  Schurz,  C.,  Lincoln.  Tar- 
bell,  I.  M.,  Lincoln.  The  best  life  of  Lincoln  is  that  by  Lord 
Charnwood,  Abraham  Lincoln  (N.  Y.,  1916). 


CHAPTER   XXII 
THE   CIVIL  WAR 

THE  Confederacy  possessed  many  of  the  elements  The  Con- 
necessary  to  make  a  nation.  It  occupied  a  homogeneous,  government, 
contiguous  territory,  of  an  area  amply  sufficient.  It  would  be 
much  less  vexed  with  the  problem  of  sectionalism  than  the 
Union  it  had  left,  for  while  there  were  causes  of  differences 
between  the  northern  slave-producing  states,  and  those  to 
the  south  which  desired  an  increasing  supply,  there  was  more 
uniformity  than  is  usual  in  a  region  so  large.  The  political 
views  and  ideals  of  the  whole  people  were  essentially  similar 
and  there  was  an  abundance  of  political  experience.  The 
permanent  constitution,  adopted  in  1862,  was  modeled  closely 
upon  that  of  the  United  States.  The  changes  were  in  part 
to  define  the  rights  of  the  states  and  of  slavery,  and  in  part 
changes  in  detail.  The  President  was  to  serve  six  years  and 
was  not  to  be  reflected;  members  of  the  cabinet  might  be 
allowed  seats  in  Congress;  Congress  was  not  to  increase, 
unless  by  a  two-thirds  vote,  appropriations  called  for  by  the 
various  department  heads,  though  it  could  reduce  them; 
riders  were  prohibited,  and  the  President  was  allowed  to 
veto  items  in  appropriation  bills.  The  government  was 
manned  from  top  to  bottom  by  men  who  had  had  years  of 
official  experience  at  Washington,  and  there  can  be  no  ques 
tion  that  its  machinery  would  have  run  smoothly,  had  it  been 
launched  under  more  favorable  conditions,  and  that  it  served 
its  purpose  satisfactorily  during  its  brief  and  trying  career. 

Economicall y ,  the  homogeneity  of  the  South  was  its  greatest   Economic 
peril.     It  devoted  its  energies,  to  a  degree  hardly  paralleled   Of  ^  South, 
in  history,  to  one  industry,  and  it  relied  upon  the  outside 
world  for  its  manufactures,  its  ships,  and  even  to  some  extent 

373 


374  THE  CIV1L  WAR 

for  its  food.  The  one  strong  point  in  its  economic  situation, 
was  that  it  possessed  a  practical  monopoly  of  its  favorite 
product.  It  was  upon  the  power  of  this  monopoly  that  most 
of  the  southern  leaders  relied,  and  they  expected  "King 
Cotton"  to  impoverish  the  North,  and  compel  the  assistance 
of  Europe.  Theirs  was  the  fallacy  of  Jefferson's  embargo 
policy;  they  ignored  the  fact  that  both  sides  would  suffer. 
Actually,  many  New  England  cotton  spinners  joined  the 
army,  while  those  of  Europe,  after  some  genuine  distress, 
found  cotton  elsewhere.  The  southern  monopoly  of  cotton 
was  based,  not  upon  exclusive  control,  but  upon  cheapness  of 
production;  higher  prices  encouraged  Egypt  and  India  to 
raise  it.  Cotton,  therefore,  failed  under  stress  of  war  to 
answer  the  demands  made  upon  it,  and  with  this  failure  fell 
the  whole  scheme  of  southern  diplomacy  for  obtaining  outside 
aid.  The  Confederacy  was  thrown  upon  its  own  resources. 
The  southern  These  resources,  while  large  in  themselves,  were  small  in 
comparison  with  those  of  the  North.  Of  the  31,443,321  in 
habitants  of  the  whole  United  States  in  1860,  the  eleven 
seceding  states  contained  only  9,103,342.  Of  this  number, 
3,689,833  were  slaves  or  free  negroes,  leaving  5,413,509  white 
persons  to  compare  with  over  22,000,000  in  the  North. 
The  South  drew  perhaps  40,000  more  fighting  men  from 
Maryland,  Kentucky,  and  Missouri,  than  the  North  drew 
from  West  Virginia,  Tennessee,  and  North  Carolina,  but 
the  disproportion  between  the  sections  remained  over 
whelming.  The  southern  population,  however,  furnished 
admirable  material  for  war.  Two  types  of  southern  soldiers 
are  represented  by  Robert  E.  Lee  and  " Stonewall"  Jackson. 
Lee  was  ben?  to  the  best  traditions  of  Virginia.  Connected 
by  family  ties  with  Washington,  he  represented  the  same 
characteristics  —  administrative  ability,  chivalric  devotion 
to  the  public  good,  and  dignity  of  character.  Handsome, 
well  set  up,  well  bred,  and  with  a  comprehensive  thought- 
fulness  which  omitted  not  the  smallest  detail  of  army  life 


From  a  "  Thistle  "  Print     ©  Detroit  Publishing  Co. 


ROBERT  E.  LEE 


ECONOMIC   RESOURCES  375 

or  the  personal  welfare  and  happiness  of  the  common  soldier 
or  the  soldier's  widow,  he  was  the  ideal  of  the  southern 
gentlemen  who  officered  much  of  the  army  and  formed 
much  of  its  cavalry.  "Stonewall"  Jackson  came  of  the 
rough  and  vigorous  stock  of  the  mountain  and  piedmont, 
the  old  frontier  region.  Prejudiced,  and  of  narrow  experience, 
he  brought  to  the  work  an  intense  conviction  of  the  righteous 
ness  of  his  cause,  and  inspired  his  troops  with  a  fervor  re 
sembling  that  of  Cromwell's  "Ironsides."  He  represented 
the  spirit  that  made  southern  infantry  a  marvel  to  military 
observers.  The  population  of  the  South  was  more  accus 
tomed  than  that  of  the  North  to  the  use  of  firearms  and  of 
horses,  and  to  following  certain  natural  leaders,  and  conse 
quently  a  military  organization  was  more  quickly  effected. 
The  disproportion  in  population,  however,  soon  began  to  tell, 
and  the  southern  Congress  was  forced,  in  April,  1862,  to  resort 
to  conscription;  gradually  extending  the  ages  of  those 
called  into  service,  diminishing  the  number  of  exemptions, 
and  consequently  reducing  the  standard  of  the  troops. 

Ultimately  the  drain  of  men  became  so  great  that  toward 
the  close  of  the  war  the  enrollment  of  slaves  was  contem 
plated.  Few  nations  of  modern  times  have  put  so  large  a 
proportion  of  their  population  in  the  battle  line.  The  most 
careful  studies  place  the  enlistments  at  a  figure  larger  than 
the  total  number  of  men  between  eighteen  and  forty-five  in 
1860,  which  was  1,100,000,  and  it  is  estimated  that  the  Con 
federacy  received  the  equivalent  of  three  years'  service  from 
1,082,119  men,  but  this  number  is  probably  somewhat 
exaggerated. 

The  slave  population  counted  heavily  in  the  sum  total  of  Economic 
southern  resources.  The  war  was  a  revelation  as  to  the  docile, 
humane  character  of  most  of  the  American  negroes.  While 
tens  of  thousands  fled  to  the  northern  armies  marching 
through  the  country,  there  was  no  slave  insurrection,  and 
the  bulk  of  them  continued  to  work  peaceably  in  the  fields, 


376  THE  CIVIL   WAR 

although  in  some  districts  nearly  all  the  white  men  who 
usually  supervised  them  had  been  drawn  away.  There 
being  little  market  for  cotton,  the  slaves  were  used  partly 
in  auxiliary  service  with  the  army,  but  chiefly  in  the  cultiva 
tion  of  food  products.  Harvests  were  good  and  chere  was 
generally  no  lack  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  though  tea,  coffee, 
and  such  imported  luxuries  almost  disappeared.  In  certain 
localities,  however,  there  was  much  distress,  for  the  means 
of  transportation  were  overtaxed  and  grew  steadily  worse 
throughout  the  war.  River  and  coast  trade  soon  had  to  be 
abandoned,  while  the  railroad  system  was  not  complete  in 
1860,  and  rapidly  deteriorated,  there  being  neither  iron,  skilled 
labor,  nor  capital  to  repair  it.  Toward  the  end  of  the  war 
the  railroads  were  practically  monopolized  by  the  govern 
ment,  but  even  then  were  scarcely  able  to  supply  the  armies, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  nonmilitary  population. 

Manufactur-  In  the  matter  of  war  material  and  manufactured  goody, 
the  case  of  the  South  seemed  desperate.  It  contained  but 
290,000  spindles  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods,  out  of 
5,280,000  in  the  whole  country,  while  of  pig  iron  it  produced 
in  1860  only  25,513  tons  out  of  a  national  production  of 
884,474,  and  only  24,176  out  of  the  406,298  tons  of  rolled 
iron.  With  astonishing  energy  and  success  the  southern 
people  turned  to  this  problem.  Richmond  and  Atlanta  be 
came  centers  for  the  manufacture  of  firearms  and  powder. 
Such  trade  as  was  carried  on  with  Europe  consisted  almost 
altogether  in  war  materials,  and  was,  by  the  close  of  the  war, 
brought  under  government  control.  Probably  the  southern 
army  was  not  seriously  hampered  by  a  lack  of  the  munitions 
of  war.  On  the  other  hand  it  was  seriously  handicapped  by 
lack  of  shoes  and  clothing.  The  drain  of  men  into  the  army 
prevented  the  development  of  any  form  of  manufacturing  not 
absolutely  essential  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  The 
noncombatant  population  suffered  as  much  as  the  troops 
from  deprivation  of  articles  usually  imported. 


CONCENTRATION  377 

Southern  finance  presents  a  bewildering  chaos  of  experi-  Finance 
ment,  but  its  net  result  was  to  place  practically  all  the  re 
sources  of  the  territory  at  the  disposal  of  the  government. 
There  was  little  floating  capital  and  consequently  little 
was  raised  by  direct  domestic  loans,  and  less  than  fifteen 
millions  by  foreign  loan.  The  expedient  of  paper  money 
was  tried  in  every  form  and  to  an  unlimited  extent,  with  the 
usual  result  that  it  depreciated,  until  at  the  end  of  the  war  it 
had  practically  no  value.  Taxes  paid  in  such  money  natur 
ally  were  of  little  avail,  and  in  the  last  year  of  the  war  the 
chief  resource  was  a  tax  in  kind,  of  one  tenth  of  various 
agricultural  products.  It  was  a  reversion  to  the  age  of  barter. 

As  the  war  went  on,  one  power  after  another  was  con-  Concentra- 
centrated  in  the  central  government  of  the  Confederacy,  t 
until  it  came  to  wield  more  absolute  control  than  any  govern 
ment  in  United  States  territory  had  ever  exercised.  Lovers 
of  state  rights,  like  Governor  Brown  of  Georgia,  protested ; 
in  North  Carolina  a  peace  candidate  for  governor  received 
twenty  thousand  votes.  To  meet  more  violent  opposition, 
Congress  suspended  the  habeas  corpus,  and  political  arrests 
were  made.  Necessity  forced  the  government  founded  in  pro 
test  against  the  centralization  of  the  national  government 
to  centralize  in  itself  powers  hitherto  undreamed  of.  In  a 
report  of  April  28,  1864,  the  Confederate  Secretary  of  War 
said:  "The  whole  military  population  capable  of  bearing 
arms,  from  seventeen  to  fifty,  is  either  marshaled  to  the  field 
or  organized  in  reserves,  ready  to  be  summoned.  One  third 
of  the  currency  of  the  Confederacy  has  been  annulled,  and 
taxation  of  unprecedented  amount  has  been  exacted  from 
all  values.  One  tenth  of  the  production  in  kind  has  been 
claimed  without  pay,  and  besides,  the  residue  and  all  prop 
erty  has  been  subjected  to  seizure  and  conversion  for 
public  use  at  moderate  rates  of  just  compensation.  The 
railroads,  the  great  means  of  internal  trade  and  commerce, 
are  made  primarily  subservient  to  the  necessities  of  govern- 


378  THE  CIVIL  WAR 

ment.  Even  the  great  writ  of  personal  liberty  is  suspended 
in  cases  requisite  to  preclude  evasion  of  military  service, 
to  repress  uprisings  of  disaffection  or  disloyalty.  In  short,  by 
their  representatives,  the  people,  not  reluctantly  but  eagerly 
and  fearful  rather  of  shortcoming  than  excess,  have  through 
regular  constitutional  action  commanded  for  their  country 
and  its  cause  the  labor,  property,  and  lives  of  all."  It  is  a 
tribute  to  the  political  adaptability  of  the  population,  that 
this  unwonted  system  was  carried  out  so  successfully  as  to 
throw  almost  the  last  ounce  of  weight  into  the  contest.  When 
the  war  was  over  the  accumulated  capital  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  had  been  swept  away,  except  that  represented  by 
the  education  of  the  people,  the  land,  and  such  improvements 
of  real  estate  as  survived  devastation. 

The  north-  In  the  North  the  military  spirit  was  less  developed  than  in 

em  army.  tlie  South<  Particularly  in  the  West,  men  were  restive 
under  discipline.  They  were,  however,  as  willing  to  fight 
as  were  the  southerners,  and  they  were  better  educated. 
Their  mechanical  ability  and  inventiveness  was  a  constant 
resource.  The  self-reliance  and  fearless  originality  of  the 
frontier  soldiery  sometimes  rescued  armies  from  perilous  po 
sitions  into  which  their  inexperienced  generals  led  them. 
The  mechanics  of  the  East  could  repair  and  run  railroads 
and  telegraphs  and  build  earthworks  as  well  as  fight. 
As  the  war  went  on  discipline  improved,  the  less  effective  of 
the  volunteer  generals  were  withdrawn  from  important  posi 
tions,  commands  were  given  to  those  who  proved  them 
selves  capable  and  to  officers  from  the  regular  army,  and  the 
troops  became  progressively  better.  The  northern  army 
showed  more  improvement  during  the  four  years  than  the 
southern.  The  supply  of  men  was  always  ample.  Although 
the  Federal  government  was  forced  to  resort  to  conscription 
in  1863,  it  was  because  the  attractions  of  industry  were  so 
strong.  More  votes  were  cast  in  the  northern  states  in  the 
presidential  election  of  1864  than  in  1860.  The  North 


NORTH  DURING  THE  WAR  379 

received  the  equivalent  of  three  years'  service  from  1,556,678 
men,  and  probably  over  2,500,000  enlistments  were  made. 
While  the  South  was  drawing  all  ages  into  her  armies,  the 
North  was  able  to  rely  upon  her  youth  ;  nearly  one  half  the 
enlistments  were  of  men  under  twenty-one. 

Owing  to  the  youth  of  the  majority  who  entered  the  Northern 
northern  army,  industry  was  less  cramped  than  in  the  South. 
In  fact  every  year  saw  the  agricultural  frontier  pressed 
farther  westward.  Mining  discoveries  drew  thousands  to 
Nevada  and  Colorado.  In  the  East  manufacturing  grew 
apace.  Woolens  and  iron  goods  were  produced  in  greater 
quantities  than  ever  before.  New  industries,  such  as  silk 
making,  developed  on  a  large  scale.  Throughout  New 
England,  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania,  factories  arose,  and 
the  great  manufacturing  cities  of  the  West,  Cleveland, 
Cincinnati,  Chicago,  and  St.  Louis,  were  prosperous.  Trade 
was  not  seriously  disturbed.  The  North  was  to  a  large 
extent  a  self-sufficing  community,  and  it  remained  open  to 
the  trade  of  the  world.  The  loss  of  the  southern  market  was 
made  up  by  the  increased  demands  for  the  army ;  and  where 
there  was  a  derangement  of  industry,  enlistment  was  a  refuge 
from  unemployment.  Only  in  the  Ohio  valley  was  trans 
portation  disturbed,  and  there  connection  with  the  East, 
both  directly  by  continuous  rail  route  and  indirectly  by  rail 
to  the  Lakes  and  thence  by  boat,  was  improved.  The 
western  armies,  moreover,  ate  more  than  the  South  had  pre 
viously  taken,  while  the  surplus  products  of  the  Lake  region, 
from  which  a  large  part  of  the  armies  came,  were  demanded  to 
supply  the  dearth  caused  by  bad  harvests  in  Europe.  This 
occurrence  of  bad  harvests  in  England  and  France  was 
particularly  opportune.  Before  the  war  the  North  imported 
more  from  Europe  than  it  exported  thereto.  The  balance 
was  paid  by  bills  of  exchange  given  by  Southerners  who 
bought  northern  goods,  and  their  bills  were  met  in  England 
by  the  southern  cotton.  Now  that  the  South  neither  pur- 


380  THE  CIVIL  WAR 

chased  from  the  North  nor  exported  cotton  to  Europe, 
financial  relations  would  have  been  strained  had  it  not  been  for 
this  sudden  demand  for  northern  wheat  which  afforded  a 
credit  balance  in  England  to  meet  our  payments  due  for 
our  European  imports.  On  the  whole,  while  the  war  brought 
economic  distress  into  tens  of  thousands  of  homes,  the  major 
ity  of  the  people  did  not  feel  any  great  distress,  and  the 
North  was  probably  richer  in  1865  than  in  1860.  The 
prices  of  farm  products  rose  just  about  sufficiently  to 
offset  the  decline  in  the  value  of  money ;  those  of  manu 
factured  goods  rose  somewhat  more  rapidly;  the  wages  of 
labor,  somewhat  less.  The  farmer,  therefore,  was  as  well  off 
^  as  usual,  the  laborer  less  so,  the  manufacturer  prospered. 
Administra-  In  the  matter  of  administration  the  Federal  government 
had  the  advantage  of  retaining  the  capital.  Aside  from 
this,  however,  it  was  on  fairly  equal  terms  with  the  Confeder 
acy.  Buchanan  had  pursued  the  policy  of  dividing  general 
appointments  as  evenly  as  possible  between  North  and 
South,  and  the  Confederacy  was  able  to  draw  into  its 
service  a  goodly  proportion  of  the  men  experienced  in  gov 
ernment  affairs.  Of  those  that  remained,  by  far  the  greater 
number  were  removed  by  Lincoln.  Never  before,  even 
under  Jackson,  had  there  been  so  clean  a  sweep  as  in  1861. 
The  prevailing  motive  in  selecting  their  successors,  moreover, 
was  political.  The  spoils  system  was  still  in  full  vigor,  and  its 
principles  for  some  time  controlled  the  majority  of  appoint 
ments  even  in  the  volunteer  military  service.  The  cabinet 
was  framed  with  the  same  view.  It  contained  all  Lincoln's 
rivals  for  the  nomination:  Seward  as  Secretary  of  State, 
Chase  at  the  Treasury,  Bates'  of  Missouri  as  Attorney-Gen 
eral,  Smith  of  Indiana  for  the  Interior,  and  Cameron  of 
Pennsylvania  for  War.  The  remaining  members  were  Welles 
of  Connecticut  for  the  Navy  and  Montgomery  Blair  of  Wash 
ington  as  Postmaster-General,  making,  with  Lincoln,  four 
former  Whigs  and  four  former  Democrats.  This  meant,  tQ 


FINANCIAL  PROBLEMS   OF  THE  NORTH          381 

be  sure,  that  it  contained  able  men,  but  it  also  meant  that 
it  represented  differing  policies,  and  that  even  apparent 
harmony  could  be  maintained  only  by  Lincoln's  rare  tact  and 
patience,  and  then  only  with  some  loss  of  efficiency.  Simon 
Cameron,  the  Secretary  of  War,  proved  entirely  incapable  and 
was  replaced  in  January,  1862,  by  Edwin  Stanton,  a  War 
Democrat. 

Upon  this  newly  manned  and  discordant  administration  state  and 
fell  the  task  of  suddenly  expanding  the  volume  of  govern-  F 
ment  business  about  twenty  times.  This  could  never  have 
been  accomplished  had  it  not  been  for  the  assistance  of 
the  state  administrations,  which  during  the  first  part  of  the 
war  undertook  the  greater  portion  of  the  task  of  raising  and 
equipping  the  troops.  The  "War  Governors"  were  a  group 
of  remarkably  efficient  men,  and  they  played  a  larger  part 
in  the  national  life  during  the  war  than  governors  had  taken 
since  the  Confederation.  They  included  such  men  as 
Andrew  of  Massachusetts,  Curtin  of  Pennsylvania,  Morton 
of  Indiana,  and  Randall  of  Wisconsin.  Private  citizens,  men 
and  women,  also  contributed  their  services  generously. 
The  United  States  Sanitary  Commission,  a  private  body, 
took  a  leading  part  in  providing  for  the  health  and  comfort 
of  the  soldiers.  Business  talent  and  organizing  ability  were 
common  in  the  North,  and  as  the  war  went  on  they  were 
more  and  more  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  government,  so 
that  by  1863  the  administration  of  public  business  was  running 
smoothly,  and  by  1864  one  was  scarcely  conscious  of  the 
tremendous  readjustment  which  had  been  made. 

The  financial  problem  of  the  North  is  of  more  interest  Taxation, 
than  that  in  the  South,  because  the  situation  was  not  so  des 
perate  and  there  was  greater  choice  of  means.  The  results, 
moreover,  were  permanent.  From  the  beginning  much 
was  raised  by  taxes,  and  the  proportion  increased  as  the 
war  progressed.  First  came  an  increase  in  the  tariff.  The 
Republicans  had  stood  for  protection,  and  before  the  war 


382  THE   CIVIL  WAR 

began,  when  the  withdrawal  of  southern  members  of  Congress 
left  them  a  majority,  passed  the  Morrill  act.  Year  by  year 
the  duties  were  increased,  until  they  reached  a  point  far 
higher  than  ever  before,  and  the  tendency  toward  free  trade 
which  had  prevailed  since  1846  was  reversed.  A  little  later, 
the  Hamiltonian  device  of  an  internal  revenue  tax  was  revived 
as  it  had  been  during  the  War  of  1812,  and  was  gradually  made 
so  comprehensive  as  to  cover  almost  everything.  A  direct 
tax  upon  the  states  brought  in  little  money,  but  an  income 
tax,  though  slow  to  get  into  running  order,  was  beginning 
in  1865  to  pay  heavy  returns.  In  1861  only  about  one 
tenth  of  the  expenditure  was  met  by  taxes ;  in  1864,  over  one 
quarter. 

Loans  by  the  close  of  the  war  reached  the  enormous  total 
of  three  billion.  At  first  Chase  borrowed  on  short  term  loans 
at  high  interest,  hoping  that  the  war  would  speedily  end, 
and  that  he  could  refund  at  lower  rates.  Later,  long  term 
loans  bearing  lower,  but  still  high,  interest  were  arranged 
for.  To  float  these  enormous  loans  was  extremely  difficult. 
The  most  successful  agent  was  Jay  Cooke  of  Philadelphia, 
who  had  them  hawked  about  the  country  like  ordinary 
merchandise  to  attract  the  small  investor.  Before  the  loan 
system  was  well  started,  Congress  resorted  to  paper  money, 
making  it  legal  tender  for  all  debts  except  customs  dues. 
By  1865  over  four  hundred  million  had  been  issued.  This 
was  the  first  national  currency,  except  gold  and  silver,  since 
the  overthrow  of  the  United  States  Bank.  In  1863  Chase  re 
vived  the  idea  of  a  national  banking  system,  though  in  a 
new  form.  There  was  to  be  no  central  bank,  but  any  five 
persons  who  could  perform  certain  requirements  could  re 
ceive  a  national  banking  charter.  They  were  to  invest  a 
certain  minimum  amount  in  government  bonds,  and  could 
issue  bank  notes  to  the  extent  of  ninety  per  cent  of  this 
security.  In  1864  a  prohibitive  tax  of  ten  per  cent  was 
levied  on  the  currency  of  state  banks,  whereupon  many  of 


THE  BLOCKADE  383 

them  sought  national  charters.  Secretary  Chase  defended 
this  notable  reversion  from  Jacksonian  policies,  on  the  ground 
that  it  would  create  a  market  for  bonds.  It  was,  however,  but 
one  of  the  many  extensions  of  national  power  to  which  the 
war  was  forcing  the  North  as  well  as  the  South.  Hamilto- 
nian  and  Whig  principles  prevailed  in  the  Republican  party, 
and  were  slowly  coming  to  do  so  in  the  whole  North.  The 
state  banks  had  been  hard  hit  in  1857,  and  the  financial  crisis 
of  1 86 1,  caused  by  the  nonpayment  of  southern  debts  hi 
1 86 1  and  by  the  quick  decline  of  southern  state  bonds  which 
were  used  as  security  for  much  currency  in  the  West,  had 
thoroughly  discredited  them.  National  regulation  was 
demanded,  and  the  war  turned  a  rising  ground  swell  of 
nationalistic  reaction  into  a  tidal  wave. 

By  1865  the  volume  of  national  legal  tender  currency  Business 
had  become  several  times  larger  than  that  it  replaced.  In  conditions- 
addition,  hundreds  of  millions  of  small  treasury  notes  had  been 
issued,  and  postage  stamps,  national  fractional  paper  currency, 
and  private  and  municipal  promises  to  pay,  known  as  "  shin 
plasters,"  passed  from  hand  to  hand.  There  was  a  plethora 
of  currency,  and  depreciation  was  heavy  and  fluctuating. 
In  1 86 1  the  banks  suspended  specie  payment,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1864  the  premium  on  gold  was  seventy-five  per 
cent;  in  one  crisis  in  July,  it  reached  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
three  per  cent ;  one  paper  dollar  could  purchase  about  thirty- 
five  cents  in  gold.  Speculation  flourished  and  prices  rose. 
The  situation  was  particularly  hard  for  borrowers,  like  the 
government,  who  were  forced  to  create  obligations,  which,  if 
paid  under  normal  conditions,  would  stand  for  much  more 
than  had  been  received  for  them.  Nevertheless  the  govern 
ment  was  able  to  preserve  order  in  its  finances,  and  every 
year  saw  money  spent  for  purposes  not  absolutely  necessary. 

In  the   great   conflict  between  these  two  sections,  the  The  block- 
South  was  fighting  in  self-defense,  the  purpose  of  the  North        ' 
was  to  reduce  the  South.    The  first  essential  to  the  subjec- 


384  THE   CIVIL  WAR 

tion  of  the  South  was  the  control  of  the  sea,  because  of  its 
economic  dependence  upon  the  outside  world.  If  the  situa 
tion  had  been  reversed,  the  control  of  the  sea,  while  still 
important,  would  have  been  less  vital,  because  the  North 
was  to  so  great  an  extent  self-sufficing.  On  April  19,  1861, 
Lincoln  declared  the  whole  southern  coast  blockaded.  The 
United  States  navy  contained  forty- two  vessels  in  commis 
sion,  many  not  immediately  available,  with  which  to  patrol 
3549  miles  of  coast  containing  nearly  two  hundred  harbors. 
The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  was  Gideon  Welles,  of  Connecti 
cut,  who  proved  to  be  an  admirable  administrator  and  who 
was  ably  assisted  by  Gustavus  Fox,  the  assistant  secretary. 
The  Confederates  at  the  outset  had  only  a  few  warships 
seized  in  southern  navy  yards.  With  practically  no  specially 
built  vessels  to  encounter,  it  was  possible  for  the  national 
government  speedily  to  fit  out  merchant  vessels  for  the 
blockade  service,  and  the  navy  was  soon  increased  largely 
from  this  source.  New  war  vessels  were  rapidly  built,  and 
by  the  close  of  the  war  the  United  States  had  671  vessels, 
of  510,396  tons,  mounting  4610  guns,  and  manned  by  51,000 
men.  This  number  was  made  up  of  ships  old  and  new, 
propelled  by  sail,  by  steam,  and  by  both  combined,  of  ships 
armored  and  unarmored,  and  suited  for  ocean,  river,  or  coast 
defense.  Up  to  November  i,  1864,  the  navy  captured  1379 
vessels.  It  was  not,  however,  primarily  intended  to  make 
captures,  but  to  prevent  trade.  In  order  to  assist  the  navy 
in  this  purpose,  strategic  positions  on  the  southern  coast 
were  speedily  occupied.  Fort  Monroe  on  the  Chesapeake 
and  Fort  Pickens  at  Pensacola  were  never  lost  by  the 
national  government.  On  August  28,  1861,  Hatteras  Inlet 
was  seized;  on  November  7,  1861,  Port  Royal  in  South 
Carolina.  In  February,  1862,  Roanoke  Island  was  captured; 
in  April,  Fort  Pulaski  at  the  mouth  of  the  Savannah  River, 
in  May,  Norfolk,  Virginia,  and  also  the  great  port  of  the 
southern  states,  New  Orleans.  The  chief  ports  remaining 


ATTITUDE   OF   ENGLAND  385 

in  the  hands  of  the  Confederates  were  Wilmington,  North 
Carolina,  Charleston,  Mobile,  and  Galveston.  From  these 
numbers  of  light  swift  vessels  ran  the  blockade  to  ports  in 
the  English  West  Indies,  and  some  goods  were  brought  in 
through  Matamoras  and  Brownsville  on  the  Mexican  border. 
Such  trade,  however,  was  very  small  in  volume  and  came  to 
be  restricted  almost  entirely  to  army  necessities.  The  cap 
ture  of  Wilmington,  January  15, 1865,  sealed  the  Confederacy 
to  the  outside  world. 

The  Confederate  government  hoped  to  break  the  block-  Merrimac 
ade  by  the  building  of  armored  vessels,  capable  of  driving  ^Monitor. 
away  the  wooden  blockading  fleet  from  the  various  ports. 
On  March  8,  1862,  this  ambition  seemed  attained  when  the 
Virginia,  made  over  from  the  Merrimac,  one  of  the  United 
States  vessels  captured  at  Norfolk,  sank  and  disabled  several 
ships  of  the  national  fleet  in  Hampton  Roads.  The  next 
day,  however,  the  Monitor,  an  ironclad  designed  by  John 
Ericsson  and  embodying  many  new  and  revolutionary  fea 
tures  of  naval  construction,  appeared  and  engaged  the  Vir 
ginia  in  a  battle  which,  though  technically  drawn,  actually 
proved  decisive,  as  the  Virginia  did  not  care  to  renew  the 
contest.  After  this  the  Federal  naval  supremacy  was  not 
seriously  in  question. 

It  was  mainly,  however,  upon  the  intervention  of  foreign  Attitude  of 
nations  that  the  South  relied  to  secure  the  opening  of  its  England- 
ports.  Russia,  Denmark,  and  Italy  were  friendly  to  the 
North,  but  the  rest  of  Europe  looked  to  England  for 
leadership.  In  that  country  sentiment  was  divided.  In 
general  the  conservative  classes  favored  the  South,  or  per 
haps  more  exactly  were  pleased  at  the  prospect  of  a  division 
of  the  United  States,  because  of  the  increased  weight  such  a 
division  would  give  to  England  in  American  questions.  The 
Liberal  party,  which  was  in  control  under  Lord  Palmerston, 
contained  many  friends  of  the  North,  such  as  Bright  and 
Forster.  A  large  faction,  however,  at  the  beginning  of  the' 


386  THE   CIVIL  WAR 

war  was  inclined  to  support  the  South.  Such  men  as  Glad 
stone  saw  in  the  attitude  of  the  national  government  a 
tyrannical  attempt  to  govern  an  unwilling  community. 
They  were  opposed  to  slavery,  but  Lincoln  emphatically 
stated  that  the  purpose  of  the  war  was  the  preservation  of 
the  Union  and  not  the  abolition  of  slavery.  The  greater 
number  of  public  men  apparently  desired  delay,  and  the 
adoption  of  such  a  policy  as  would  secure  the  friendship  of 
the  winning  side. 

Confederate  The  policy  of  the  Confederate  government  was  to  force 
the  hand  of  England.  It  was  hoped  that  by  depriving  Eng 
land  of  southern  cotton,  the  cotton  mill  districts  would  be 
distressed,  and  would  force  the  government  to  open  the 
southern  ports.  It  was  also  believed  that  the  southern 
policy  of  a  low  tariff  would  appeal  to  England.  In  addition 
the  Confederate  government  accepted  those  portions  of  the 
"Declaration  of  Paris"  of  1856,  which  declared  that  a  block 
ade  to  be  legal  must  be  effective,  and  that  a  neutral  flag 
should  protect  the  cargo  even  if  the  latter  belonged  to  an 
enemy.  This  latter  policy  should  be  taken  in  connection 
with  the  building  of  a  number  of  Confederate  cruisers,  the 
most  important  being  the  Alabama  and  the  Shenandoah,  in 
England.  These  vessels  were  not  of  a  character  to  break 
the  blockade,  but  were  swift  enough  to  overtake  and  power 
ful  enough  to  capture  most  merchant  vessels.  Their  activi 
ties  constituted  such  a  danger  to  the  American  merchant 
marine  that  insurance  and  freight  rates  were  pushed  higher 
and  higher.  The  English  vessels,  not  being  liable  to  capture, 
secured  the  trade  which  American  vessels  had  previously 
carried,  and  by  the  close  of  the  war  the  American  merchant 
marine  had  almost  disappeared  from  the  high  seas.  While 
other  causes,  which  will  be  noted  later,  contributed  to  this 
result,  the  South  believed  that  its  policy  was  the  main  cause 
of  the  change,  and  that  England  should  reciprocate  favors  by 
declaring  the  blockade  ineffective,  and,  therefore,  illegal. 


PROBLEMS  OF  NEUTRALITY         387 

In  1863  Jefferson  Davis,  incensed  at  England's  failure  to 
act,  threatened  to  put  neutral  vessels  with  enemy's  goods 
under  the  ban,  but  the  threat  was  as  ineffective  as  the  bribe. 

While  these  southern  policies  were  not  successful  in  fore-  Northern 
ing  the  hand  of  England,  serious  and  delicate  questions  were 
continually  arising  between  the  Federal  government  and 
England,  which  might  have  resulted  in  war.  Probably  the 
volume  of  business  between  the  northern  ports  and  England 
was  a  factor  for  peace,  especially  the  immense  exports  of 
American  wheat  which  were  necessary  to  supplement  the 
bad  harvests  from  which  England  was  then  suffering.  The 
English  Minister  at  Washington,  Lord  Lyons,  was  also  a 
quieting  influence;  and  still  more  the  diplomacy  of  Charles 
Francis  Adams,  United  States  Minister  at  London,  was  of 
the  greatest  importance.  Northern  sentiment,  however, 
was  irascible.  There  was  a  deep-seated  feeling  that  England 
should  have  favored  the  North,  and  small  occasions  became  Belligerency, 
pregnant  of  war.  On  May  13,  1861,  England  proclaimed 
its  neutrality,  thus  acknowledging  that  a  state  of  war  existed. 
Northern  sentiment,  holding  that  a  rebellion  and  not  a  war 
was  in  progress,  took  exception  to  this  action,  although  the 
Supreme  Court  later  in  the  case  of  Amy  Warwick  decided 
that  the  President's  proclamation  of  April  19,  declaring  the 
blockade,  marked  the  beginning  of  the  war.  The  United 
States  government  endeavored  to  perfect  the  blockade  by 
seizing  vessels  on  their  way  from  Europe  to  Nassau,  Mata- 
moras,  and  other  distributing  points  from  which  goods  were 
sent  through  the  blockade.  This  action  was  based  on  the  Continuous 
idea  that  such  voyages  were  actually  continuous,  the  mere 
transshipment  not  being  sufficient  to  constitute  a  new  voyage, 
and  that  most  of  the  goods  so  carried  were  actually  contra 
band.  Such  seizures  were  decidedly  questionable  in  inter 
national  law.  The  principle  involved  resembled  that  of  the 
"Rule  of  1756,"  against  the  enforcement  of  which  by  Great 
Britain  during  the  Napoleonic  wars,  the  United  States 


388  THE  CIVIL  WAR 

had  protested,  but  during  the  Civil  War  only  vessels  car 
rying  contraband  were  seized.  Some  of  the  cases  arising 
were,  after  the  war,  decided  against  the  government  by  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court,  and  others  by  the  Arbitration 
Commission  of  1871.  During  the  war,  however,  the  policy 
was  carried  out  without  involving  foreign  complications. 
Trent  affair.  The  subject  of  the  right  of  search  also  came  up.  The 
most  important  case  was  that  of  the  Trent,  an  English  vessel 
on  a  voyage  between  two  neutral  ports,  from  which  Cap 
tain  Wilkes,  commanding  the  United  States  ship  San  Ja- 
cinto,  removed  James  M.  Mason  and  John  Slidell,  Confeder 
ate  commissioners  on  the  way  to  Europe.  Immense  popular 
enthusiasm  over  this  act  in  the  North,  and  intense  popular 
indignation  in  England,  seemed  about  Christmas  time,  1861, 
to  render  war  inevitable.  It  was  averted  by  the  good  sense 
and  tact  of  such  men  as  Prince  Albert  and  Lord  Russell  on 
the  one  side,  and  Charles  Sumner  and  Adams  on  the  other. 
The  commissioners  were  surrendered.  Their  seizure  had 
been  in  contradiction  to  all  previous  American  policy,  and 
their  surrender  strengthened  the  traditional  American  policy 
on  the  subject  of  search,  although  Seward  did  not  take  the 
full  advantage  of  his  opportunity  in  committing  England  to 
the  earlier  American  policy.  England's  lax  interpretation 
of  her  neutral  duties,  which  allowed  the  building  of  Con 
federate  war  vessels  in  English  ports,  aroused  the  just  in 
dignation  of  the  North.  A  crisis  was  reached  on  this  sub- 
Violation  of  ject  in  the  summer  of  1863,  when  certain  fighting  rams  were 
neut  ty*  under  construction  in  English  ship-building  yards,  and  Lord 
Russell  professed  to  be  unable  to  find  evidence  that  they 
were  destined  for  the  Confederacy  in  spite  of  general  popular 
knowledge  to  that  effect.  Adams  wrote  him:  "It  is  super 
fluous  for  me  to  point  out  to  your  Lordship  that  this  means 
war."  Just  before  this  note  was  sent,  the  English  govern 
ment  had  actually  taken  steps  to  prevent  the  rams  from  fall 
ing  into  belligerent  hands. 


YEAR  AND  PLACE  OF  BATTLES 
les  fought  in  1861;        2,  Battles  fought  in  1802,  etc 
g  Federal  and 


THE  WAR  IN  THE   EAST  389 

In  fact  by  this  time  English  public  sentiment  would  not  British  iutor- 
have  sustained  the  government  in  a  policy  hostile  to  the 
North.  Really,  danger  had  been  greatest  in  the  autumn  of 
1862,  and  the  decision  had  been  due  rather  to  domestic 
English  conditions  than  to  diplomacy.  At  that  time  the 
question  of  recognizing  the  independence  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy  had  been  seriously  discussed,  but  the  cabinet 
had  decided  to  delay  action.  On  January  i,  1863,  came  the 
definite  Emancipation  Proclamation,  and  with  the  adoption 
of  emancipation  by  the  North,  the  possibility  of  English  in 
tervention  in  favor  of  the  South  had  passed  away. 
England  had  become  too  thoroughly  committed  to  that 
policy  to  ally  herself  formally  with  a  slave  power  fight* 
ing  to  maintain  slavery.  The  resolutions  relative  to  the 
recognition  of  the  Confederacy,  laid  over  for  consideration 
by  the  cabinet  in  October,  1862,  were  never  taken  up.  Na 
poleon  III,  who  was  taking  advantage  of  the  temporary  divi 
sion  of  the  United  States  to  establish  an  empire  in  Mexico 
under  French  protection,  and  who  hoped  to  maintain  his 
hold  by  securing  the  permanence  of  that  division,  did  indeed, 
in  1863,  endeavor  to  force  the  hand  of  the  English  govern 
ment.  His  efforts,  however,  were  unsuccessful,  and  as  he 
did  not  venture  to  act  alone,  the  Civil  War  passed  without 
breaking  the  relations  between  the  Federal  government  and 
foreign  powers. 

Deprived  of  foreign  assistance  by  the  failure  of  its  diplo-  The  war  in 
matic  policy,  and  cut  off  from  foreign  intercourse  by  the  theEast- 
blockade,  the  South  was  left  to  encounter  the  three-  or  four 
fold  strength  of  the  North.     The  actual  contest  was  fought 
out  on  land.     The  vast  bulk  of  the  Appalachian  mountains, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  wide,  and  crossed  in  the  South 
by  but  a  single  railroad,  that  from  Richmond  to  Chattanooga 
by   way   of   Lynchburg,    divided   the   field   of   operations. 
Though  troops  were  often  shifted  from  one  side  to  the  other, 
closely  combined  operations  were  impossible,  and  the  war 


3QO  THE   CIVIL  WAR 

in  the  West  was  almost  independent  of  that  in  the  East. 
In  the  latter  region  the  two  capitals,  Washington  and  Rich 
mond,  were  the  objective  points.  The  latter  was  better 
placed,  for  its  defense  actually  protected  the  country  back 
of  it;  while  the  Confederate  forces,  following  the  mountain 
valleys,  several  times  passed  to  the  rear  of  Washington.  Both 
Washington  and  Richmond  proved  impregnable  to  direct 
attack.  The  Confederates,  although  winning  battles  both  in 
1 86 1  and  1862  at  Bull  Run  or  Manassas,  only  twenty  miles 
from  Washington,  failed  to  attack  that  city.  Direct  attacks 
on  Richmond  were  defeated  at  Bull  Run  in  1861,  at  Fredericks- 
burg  in  1863,  at  Chancellorsville  in  1863,  and  at  Cold  Harbor 
in  1864.  This  situation  forced  the  rival  commanders  to  resort 
to  more  complex  strategy.  The  northern  fleet  having  com 
mand  of  the  mouths  of  the  Virginia  rivers,  McClellan,  the 
commander  of  the  northern  forces,  in  1862  decided  to  move 
against  Richmond  by  way  of  the  peninsula  between  the  James 
and  the  York  rivers.  By  this  move  Washington  and  its 
western  connections  were  exposed  to  an  attack  down  the 
Shenandoah  valley.  Lee,  who  at  this  time  was  given  charge 
of  Confederate  operations  in  Virginia,  caused  "Stonewall" 
Jackson  to  threaten  Washington  from  this  direction,  and 
thereby  caused  the  national  government  to  retain  a  con 
siderable  portion  of  its  army  for  the  defense  of  the  capital. 
Swiftly  and  secretly  Jackson  turned  back  and  united  with 
Lee,  who  fell  upon  McClellan  and  in  the  " Seven  Days' 
Battles  "  at  Mechanicsville,  Games'  Mills,  Savage's  Station, 
Frayser's  Farm,  White  Oak  Swamp,  and  Malvern  Hill, 
drove  him  back  and  saved  Richmond.  McClellan  withdrew, 
and  Lee,  following  up  his  successes,  crossed  the  Potomac 
above  Washington  and  invaded  Maryland.  After  a  junction 
of  the  northern  armies,  Lee  was  defeated  at  Antietam  on 
September  17,  1862.  In  1863  Lee  again  invaded  the  North 
by  way  of  the  mountain  valleys,  some  of  his  troops  penetrat 
ing  Pennsylvania  to  the  bank  of  the  Susquehanna  opposite 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  WEST  391 

Harrisburg.  Again,  however,  all  the  Federal  forces  of  the 
East  combined  under  General  Meade,  and  Lee  was  defeated 
at  Gettysburg,  on  July  3,  1863.  The  situation  thus  favored 
defense,  and  for  four  years  neither  side  was  able  to  gain 
decisive  advantage. 

In  1864  General  Grant,  who  was  now  called  from  the  Grant  and 
West  to  take  supreme  command,  adopted  the  policy  of  attri-  ee' 
tion,  based  on  the  fact  that  the  North  could  lose  more  men 
than  the  South,  and  that  fighting, 'therefore,  even  if  not  de 
cisive,  was  of  advantage  to  the  North.  With  greatly  superior 
forces  he  fought  Lee  through  the  "  Wilderness"  between  the 
Rapidan  and  North  Anna  rivers,  then  down  to  the  James, 
and  crossing  that  river,  besieged  Petersburg,  which  com 
manded  the  railway  connection  between  Richmond  and  Wil 
mington,  the  chief  port  for  blockade  runners.  In  the  mean 
time  Sheridan  defeated  Early  at  Cedar  Creek,  October  19, 
1864,  and  devastated  the  Shenandoah  valley  which  had  for  so 
long  served  the  Confederates  both  as  a  granary  and  as  a  door 
for  their  invasions  of  the  North.  With  this  outlet  closed  to 
military  operations,  the  northern  forces  united.  By  hard 
fighting  and  by  using  his  superior  forces  to  extend  his  lines 
beyond  those  of  Lee,  Grant  forced  the  evacuation  of  Peters 
burg  and  Richmond  on  April  3,  1865.  Sheridan,  with  the 
left  or  southern  wing  of  Grant's  army,  by  rapid  marching 
cut  Lee  off  from  the  South,  securing  the  Danville  railroad 
on  April  5.  On  April  8  he  passed  Lee's  army  and  established 
himself  on  the  Lynchburg  railroad  just  west  of  Appomattox 
Court  House,  where  Lee  lay.  On  April  9  Lee  surrendered 
and  the  war  in  the  East  came  to  an  end. 

In  the  West,  the  northern  objective  was  the  southern  The  war  in 
transportation  system,  and  the  strategic  features  were  the  theWest- 
rivers,    railroads,    and    mountains.     The    first    important 
movement  was  an  expedition  by  a  combined  river  fleet  and 
army  under  the  command  of  General  Grant  up  the  Cumber 
land  and  Tennessee  rivers.    This  resulted  in  the  capture  of 


392 


THE   CIVIL  WAR 


Forts  Henry  and  Donelson  in  February,  1862.  The  ex 
pedition  pushed  on,  capturing  Nashville  on  the  Cumberland 
and  reaching  northern  Alabama  by  way  of  the  Tennessee. 

Corinth.  The  real  objective  was  the  little  village  of  Corinth  in  north 
ern  Mississippi,  which  was  one  of  the  most  important  rail 
road  junctions  in  the  South,  lying  at  the  meeting  point  of 
roads  to  Memphis,  Vicksburg,  Mobile,  and  Chattanooga. 
Corinth  was  situated  about  twenty  miles  from  the  Tennessee 
River,  and  the  Union  army  under  Grant  disembarked  at 
Pittsburg  Landing  and  encamped  between  the  landing  and 
Shiloh  Church.  Here  it  was  attacked  by  a  Confederate 
army  led  by  Generals  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  and  Beaure- 
gard  in  April,  1862.  It  maintained  its  position,  however, 
and  after  a  slow  advance  under  Halleck  captured  Corinth 
on  May  30.  This  capture  cut  the  shortest  route  from 
Richmond  to  Vicksburg.  It  meant  that  the  Union  armies 
had  penetrated  almost  two  hundred  miles  into  hostile  terri 
tory,  and  for  a  time  it  seemed  that  the  movement  had  been 
premature.  The  Confederates  assumed  the  initiative  all 
along  the  line  during  the  summer  of  1862.  Forces  under 
Bragg  and  Kirby  Smith,  debouching  from  the  mountain 
valleys  of  eastern  Tennessee,  the  one  by  way  of  Chattanooga 
and  the  other  by  Cumberland  Gap,  invaded  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky  and  threatened  Louisville  and  Cincinnati.  An 
other  Confederate  army  threatened  to  retake  Corinth,  and 
all  these  movements  were  in  progress  while  Lee  was  making 
his  invasion  of  Maryland.  The  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy 
were  at  high  tide.  In  the  early  autumn,  however,  all  these 
movements  were  checked;  Lee  at  Antietam,  September  17, 
Price  and  Van  Dorn  at  Corinth,  October  4,  and  Bragg  at 
Perryville,  October  8.  The  Union  captures  were  thus 
made  secure. 

Vicksburg.  In  the  meantime  a  movement  had  been  going  on  to 

open  up  the  Mississippi  for  the  double  purpose  of  cutting 
the  Confederacy  in  two  and  of  restoring  to  the  northwestern 


THE  WAR  IN  THE  WEST  393 

states  the  freedom  of  its  navigation.  Joint  naval  and  mili 
tary  operations  had  by  the  summer  of  1862  reduced  the 
Confederate  positions  on  the  lower  Mississippi  as  far  north 
as  Port  Hudson;  on  the  upper  river  as  far  south  as  Vicks- 
burg.  The  capture  of  this  latter  fortress  was  one  of  the 
most  difficult  achievements  of  the  war.  It  was  accomplished 
by  Grant  on  July  4,  1863,  the  day  after  Lee  was  defeated  at 
Gettysburg.  Port  Hudson  fell  on  the  ninth,  and  the  Con 
federacy  was  split  into  two  unequal  parts.  The  next  im 
portant  position  was  Chattanooga,  which  commanded  the 
valley  of  eastern  Tennessee  and  the  shortest  railway  route 
between  Richmond  and  Atlanta.  It  was  captured  on  Sep 
tember  9,  1863,  after  a  skillful  campaign  conducted  by 
General  Rosecrans,  who  had  won  appreciation  by  his  de 
fense  of  Corinth  the  previous  year.  The  capture  of  this 
key  of  the  southwest  was  so  serious  a  blow  to  the  Con 
federacy  that  Lee  sent  Longstreet  with  one  of  the  three 
corps  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  to  assist  Bragg  in  its 
recovery.  Bragg  attacked  Rosecrans,  defeated  him  at  chatta- 
Chickamauga,  and  blockaded  the  northern  forces  in  Chat-  nooga- 
tanooga,  where  they  remained  for  a  time  almost  in  a  state 
of  siege.  Grant  was  now  sent  to  take  command  at  Chat 
tanooga  and  by  the  end  of  November  had  defeated  the  Con 
federates  in  the  battles  of  Lookout  Mountain  and  Mission 
ary  Ridge,  and  secured  the  hold  on  Chattanooga. 

Up  to  this  time,  Tennessee  had  been  brought  under  Atlanta. 
the  control  of  the  national  government  and  the  western 
transportation  system  of  the  Confederacy  had  been  crippled; 
but  the  cotton  belt,  the  most  populous  and  the  richest  region 
of  the  South,  protected  from  attack  from  the  coast  by  the 
pine  barriers,  and  on  the  interior  by  the  mountains  and 
waste  stretches  of  northern  Alabama,  had  felt  the  war  only 
indirectly.  Alexander  Stephens  could  say  on  March  10, 
1864,  "The  heart  of  our  country  has  never  been  reached 
by  them ;  they  have  as  yet  been  able  to  break  only  the 


394  THE  CIVIL  WAR 

outer  shell  of  the  Confederacy."  The  next  military  task  of 
the  North  was  to  penetrate  the  mountains  and  capture 
Atlanta,  the  most  important  railroad  center  left  to  the  Con 
federates  and  the  most  important  manufacturing  city  of 
the  South.  This  task  fell  to  General  Sherman,  as  Grant 
was  called  to  be  commander  in  chief  of  the  Union  forces, 
with  personal  command  against  Lee.  After  a  long,  hard 
campaign  between  Sherman  and  General  Joseph  E.  John 
ston,  Atlanta  fell,  September  3,  1864.  This  indeed  broke 
the  shell  of  the  Confederacy,  the  rich  central  plain  was 
open  to  invasion,  and  the  nature  of  the  country  favored  the 
largest  battalions.  General  Hood,  in  command  of  the 
Confederate  forces,  now  abandoned  defense  and  boldly 
and  desperately  invaded  Tennessee.  At  Nashville,  on  De 
cember  1 6,  1864,  he  was  overwhelmed  by  General  Thomas, 
known  as  the  "Rock  of  Chickamauga,"  in  the  only  battle 
of  the  Civil  War  where  a  large  army  was  effectually  de 
stroyed.  Sherman  meantime  marched  boldly  from  Atlanta 
to  the  coast,  his  army  spreading  a  path  of  destruction  sixty 
miles  wide  through  the  very  heart  and  center  of  the  Con 
federacy.  On  December  20  he  reached  the  coast  at  Sa 
vannah,  capturing  that  city  and  sending  notice  of  it  to  Lin 
coln  as  a  "  Christmas  gift."  Turning  northward,  he  swept 
through  the  Carolinas,  leaving  a  broad  belt  of  devastation 
Close  of  behind  him.  On  April  26,  1865,  he  received  the  surrender 
the  w&r.  Q£  j^gph  j?  Johnston,  who  included  in  the  terms  of  the 
capitulation  all  the  Confederate  forces  still  in  arms.  There 
was  some  fighting  in  May,  but  Johnston's  surrender  practi 
cally  marked  the  end  of  the  war. 

The  South  had  contested  every  step  and  did  not  yield 
until  the  great  army  of  the  West  had  swung  round  to  within 
thirty  miles  of  the  southern  boundary  of  Virginia  and  ninety 
miles  of  the  place  of  Lee's  surrender. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 


395 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

Lincoln's  annual  messages  furnish  very  satisfactory  accounts  Sources. 
of  activity  from  year  to  year.  The  Diary  of  Gideon  Welles  gives 
an  intimate  account  of  cabinet  problems.  The  Diary  and  Corre 
spondence  of  Salmon  P.  Chase  (American  Hist.  Assoc.,  Report, 
1902,  vol.  II)  is  also  of  especial  value.  Recollections  and  remi 
niscences  are  innumerable,  but  for  the  most  part  are  valuable  only 
when  used  most  carefully  and  in  combination.  The  annual  re 
ports  of  the  secretaries  of  war  and  of  the  navy  are  usable. 

Adams,    C.   F.,   C.   F.   Adams,   chs.   XI,   XII,   XIV-XVII.   Historical 
Bullock,  J.  D,  Secret  Service  of  the  Confederate  States  in  Europe,   ^he  South 
Cuirey,  J.  S.  M.,  Civil  Government  of  the  Confederate  States.    Davis,   during  the 
J.,  Confederate  Government.     Henderson,  G.  T.  R.,  Stonewall  Jack-  ? 
son  and  the  American  Civil  War.     Long,  A.  L.,  Lee.     Paxson,  F.  L., 
The  Civil    War.     Pollard,  E.  A.,   Lost  Cause.     Rhodes,    United  t 

States,  V,  ch.  XXVIII.     Schwab,  J.  C.,  The  Confederate  States  of 
America. 

Fite,  E.  D.,  Social  and  Industrial  Conditions  in  the  North 
during  the  Civil  War.  Hart,  Chase,  chs.  VIII,  IX,  X,  XI.  Nic- 
olay  and  Hay,  Lincoln,  vol.  VI,  chs.  V-VIII,  XVIII,  XIX;  vol. 
X,  ch.  IV.  Rhodes,  United  States,  vol.  Ill,  chs.  XV,  XVI  ;  vol. 
IV  ;  vol.  V,  chs.  XXIV-XXVII.  Weeden,  W.  B.,  War  Government, 
Federal  and  State. 

Alexander,  E.  P.,  Military  Memoirs.     Dodge,  T.  A.,  Bird's-eye  Military 
View  of  our  Civil  War.     Formby,  J.,  American  Civil  War.     Grant,   op^*0113- 
U.  S.,  Personal  Memoirs.     Ropes,  J.  C.,  Story  of  the  Civil  War. 
War  of  the  Rebellion,  Official  Records,  Atlas. 

Adams,  C.  F.,  C.  F.  Adams,  144-357,  and  Studies  Military  Diplomacy. 
and  Diplomatic,  Nos.  9  and  10.     Callahan,  J.  M.,  Diplomatic  His 
tory  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.     Moore,  J.  B.,  Arbitrations,  I,  ch. 
XIV,  and  Digest   of  International  Law,  VII,  383-390,    698-744. 
Woolsey,  T.  D.,  International  Law,  §§  163-203. 


The  North 
^ring  *« 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


Centralizing 
legislation. 


Dominance 
of  the  North. 


POLITICS   DURING   THE  WAR 

DURING  no  other  four  years  of  United  States  history  has 
so  much  important  general  legislation  been  passed  as  during 
the  Civil  War.  The  tariff  schedules  were  based  on  the 
idea  of  protection  instead  of  revenue,  a  comprehensive 
system  of  internal  revenue  was  adopted,  currency  was 
brought  under  national  control  and  to  a  large  extent 
banking  also.  The  policy  of  making  profit  out  of  the 
public  lands  was  in  the  Homestead  Act  of  1862  finally 
abandoned  for  that  of  granting  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
to  actual  settlers  at  the  cost  of  survey.  In  the  same  year 
the  policy  of  land  grants  to  railroads  was  pressed  to  its 
greatest  extension  in  the  provisions  for  the  proposed  roads 
to  the  Pacific.  The  same  year  also  saw  the  establishment 
of  a  National  Bureau  of  Agriculture  and  the  granting  of 
script  redeemable  in  public  land  to  all  the  states  for  the 
establishment  of  colleges  of  agriculture. 

This  extension  of  the  functions  of  the  national  govern 
ment  marked  to  a  large  extent  the  reversal  of  the  legislative 
programs  upon  which  Jefferson  had  been  elected,  which 
Jackson  had  advocated,  and  for  which  the  Cotton  South  had 
more  lately  stood.  It  marked  a  return  to  many  of  the  con 
structive  views  of  Hamilton,  John  Quincy  Adams,  and  Clay. 
The  democratization  of  the  government  remained,  but  there 
was  a  reaction  as  to  the  policy  which  the  government  should 
pursue.  Some  of  these  measures  were  passed  under  the 
pressure  of  war  necessity.  Others  were  passed  because  the 
withdrawal  of  the  southern  congressmen  left  the  North, 
where  the  majority  had  generally  favored  a  stronger  govern- 

306 


"UNION"   PARTY  397 

ment,  in  control.  The  Morrill  tariff,  the  first  step  in  the 
new  protective  system,  for  instance,  was  passed  on  March  2, 
1 86 1,  before  the  war  began  but  when  the  secession  of  seven 
states  opposed  to  protection  had  left  protectionists  in  con 
trol.  This  centralizing  legislation  was  passed  with  com 
paratively  little  debate;  it  did  not  constitute  the  basis  for 
party  division.  The  question  remained  open  as  to  whether 
it  would  be  repealed  when  the  war  was  over  and  the  southern 
representatives  returned  to  their  places. 

In  determining  party  alignment  during  this  period  the 
most  important  issues  were  those  growing  out  of  the  ques 
tion  of  the  Union,  the  problems  of  slavery  and  reconstruc 
tion,  and  the  administration  of  the  war,  particularly  the 
exercise  of  executive  power.  As  has  already  been  pointed 
out,  the  sentiment  in  favor  of  fighting  to  preserve  the  Union 
was  very  general. 

Just  after  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter  it  seemed  as  if 
the  war  might  be  conducted  without  the  interference  of  party' 
party  politics.  In  the  autumn  elections  a  "Union"  party 
appeared  in  most  of  the  states,  the  attempt  being  made  to 
combine  every  one  in  support  of  the  administration.  Gen 
erally  the  Republicans  indorsed  a  Union  ticket.  The  major 
ity  of  the  Democrats,  however,  preferred  to  keep  up  their 
party  organization,  partly  because  the  national  Republican 
administration  was  removing  so  many  Democrats  from  office. 
In  some  cases  Republicans  also  ran  independently  of  Union 
ists.  The  Union  party  failed  to  put  an  end  to  party 
dissension,  but  in  general  it  took  the  place  of  ''Republican" 
as  the  designation  of  the  supporters  of  the  administration, 
and  it  enabled  many  to  cast  their  influence  on  that  side 
without  formally  indorsing  the  tenets  of  Republicanism. 

The  administration  party,  whether  it  be  called   Union   Conserva- 
or  Republican,  was  made  up  of  men  who  had  been  identified 
with  many  different  factions  and  parties,  and  it  was  a  deli 
cate  task  to  adjust  their  claims  and  prejudices.    As  the  war 


398  POLITICS  DURING  THE  WAR 

progressed,  however,  old  divisions  became  less  keen,  and 
their  place  was  taken  by  a  new  division  between  those  who 
were  radical  and  those  who  were  conservative  on  the  ques 
tion  of  slavery.  Cl^e,and^urnner  believed  that  to  be  the 
real  question  at  issue,  and  wisfied  to  declare  boldly  for 
emancipation.  Generals  in  the  field  with  strong  abolitionist 
views,  like  Fremont  and  Hunter,  strove  to  force  the  hand 
of  the  administration.  Seward,  always  apprehensive  when 
vigorous  action  was  proposed,  became  more  and  more 
opposed  to  taking  any  decisive  measures  looking  to  aboli 
tion,  and  became  the  leader  of  the  Conservatives.  Lincoln 
desired  to  free  the  negroes,  but  he  realized  the  necessity  of 
placating  the  border  states  as  well  as  the  seriousness  of  the 
negro  problem  apart  from  the  question  of  slavery.  He, 
therefore,  for  some  time  steadily  maintained  the  rights  of 
the  loyal  slave  owners.  He  made  the  preservation  of  the 
Union  his  guiding  purpose. 

Growth  of  The  progress  of  the  war,  however,  was  marked  by  a  rapid 

development  of  the  antislavery  sentiment.  The  eighteen 
hundred  thousand  Republicans  who  voted  for  Lincoln  in  1860 
were  far  from  being  abolitionists  at  that  time.  It  was  against 
the  extension,  not  the  existence,  of  slavery  that  they  voted. 
On  the  other  hand  the  twenty-two  hundred  thousand  voters  in 
the  loyal  states,  who  in  1860  had  opposed  Lincoln  and  thereby 
expressed  themselves  as  willing  to  allow  slavery  extension, 
had  so  voted,  for  the  most  part,  not  through  any  friendliness 
toward  slavery,  but  because  of  their  desire  for  peace.  When 
peace  ceased  to  be,  a  new  situation  confronted  the  country 
and  most  men  had  to  readjust  their  ideas.  In  July,  1861, 
Congress  almost  unanimously  voted  for  Mr.  Crittenden's 
resolution:  "That  the  present  deplorable  civil  war  ...  is 
not  urged  upon  our  part  in  any  spirit  of  oppression,  nor  for 
any  purpose  of  conquest  or  subjugation,  nor  purpose  of  over 
throwing  or  interfering  with  the  rights  or  established  insti 
tutions  of  the  states."  This  very  session  of  Congress,  how- 


EMANCIPATION  399 

ever,  passed  a  confiscation  act  declaring  forfeited  the  claims 
of  owners  to  slaves  employed  against  the  United  States.  This 
first  attack  on  slavery  was  rapidly  followed  up.  In  the  spring 
of  1862  slavery  was  prohibited  in  the  territories,  —  in  taking 
which  action  Congress  overruled  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  — 
and  emancipation  with  compensation  for  the  owners  was 
provided  for  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  In  July  a  new  con 
fiscation  act  provided  for  the  freeing  of  the  slaves  of  all  those 
convicted  of  treason,  and  some  other  classes  of  southern 
citizens.  Antislavery  sentiment  increased  in  volume  and  in 
insistence  with  every  passing  month.  In  August,  Horace 
Greeley,  the  editor  of  the  powerful  New  York  Tribune,  ad 
dressed  to  the  President  an  article  headed,  "The  Prayer  of 
Twenty  Millions,"  calling  for  immediate  emancipation.  In 
fact,  now  that  war  was  actually  in  progress,  practicality 
joined  with  idealism  in  urging  action.  Futile  indeed  would 
war  have  proved  if  its  end  saw  still  in  existence  the  institution 
that  had  brought  it  on.  The  practical  man  who  before  the 
war  had  been  most  strongly  for  compromise  or  even  surrender 
to  southern  claims,  now  became  anxious  to  clear  up  the  whole 
problem.  This  to  a  considerable  extent  accounts  for  the 
steady  development  of  radical  sentiment  in  the  North  be 
tween  1 86 1  and  1867.  Men  wished  to  take  advantage  of  the 
opportunity  to  accomplish  more  and  more  things  which  they 
desired,  but  for  which  they  would  never  have  thought  of  going 
to  war. 

Lincoln  realized  this  growing  sentiment  and  during  the  Emantipa 
spring  and  summer  of  1862  perfected  his  plan.     With  regard  tlon' 
to  the  slaves  in  the  loyal  states  he  recommended  emancipa 
tion  by  state  action,  the  national  government  assisting  in  the 
compensation  of  the  owners.     With  regard  to  slaves  in  the 
Confederate  states,  except  certain  regions  already  recovered 
by  the  national  forces,  he  resolved  on  immediate  action  based 
on  his  executive  power.    On  July  22  he  read  an  emancipation 
proclamation  to  his  cabinet,  but  did  not  make  it  public  until 


400  POLITICS  DURING  THE  WAR 

September  22,  when  the  battle  of  Antietam  assured  the  safety 
of  Washington  and  prevented  his  action  from  being  regarded 
as  a  movement  of  desperation.  His  explanation  of  his  de 
cision  was  that  emancipation  had  become  necessary  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Union;  it  was  a  war  measure.  His  pro 
cedure  rested  upon  his  military  authority  as  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  army  —  a  possibility  which  had  been  pointed  out 
by  John  Quincy  Adams.  It  took  the  form  of  a  proclamation 
announcing  that  unless  the  states  in  rebellion  returned  to 
their  allegiance  before  January  i,  1863,  all  slaves  therein 
should  become  free.  This  proclamation  applied  only  to  the 
persons  of  the  slaves,  and  not  to  the  institution  of  slavery 
itself.  The  state  laws  remained,  and,  unless  further  action 
should  be  taken,  slavery  might  be  reestablished.  A  third 
portion  of  Lincoln's  plan,  the  colonization  of  the  freed  slaves 
outside  the  United  States,  proved  to  be  a  complete  failure, 
in  spite  of  the  attempts  of  Seward  to  arrange  for  their  recep 
tion  in  various  semitropical  countries. 

Democratic  The   issuance   of   the    Emancipation    Proclamation   un 

doubtedly  prevented  the  separation  of  the  Radicals  from  the 
administration  party,  and  Lincoln  also  succeeded  in  holding 
the  Conservatives.  The  Democrats,  however,  maintained 
their  opposition.  This  was  based  not  only  on  their  disap 
proval  of  emancipation,  but  on  their  criticism  of  Lincoln's 
interpretation  of  his  constitutional  power  in  other  ways.  He 
had  suspended  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  on  his  own  authority, 
and  arbitrary  arrests  were  numerous  and  were  not  confined 
to  districts  where  hostilities  were  in  progress.  On  September 
24,  1862,  he  renewed  the  suspension  in  a  proclamation  which 
made  the  discouragement  of  enlistment  a  crime.  Promptly 
hundreds  of  men  in  all  parts  of  the  North  were  arrested  for 
speaking  and  writing  against  the  war,  and  were  imprisoned 
without  trial  or  were  tried  by  military  tribunals.  To  many, 
freedom  of  speech  and  political  liberty  seemed  endangered. 
Benjamin  R.  Curtis,  formerly  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  Joel 


ELECTION  OF    1862  401 

Parker,  of  the  Harvard  Law  School,  attacked  Lincoln  as  a 
despot.  Congress  later  in  the  year  authorized  the  suspension 
of  the  writ,  but  this  did  not  silence  criticism.  The  Demo 
crats  also  attacked  the  policy  of  compensated  emancipation, 
and  the  military  policy  of  the  administration.  Possibly  this 
last  was  the  most  potent  cause  of  public  dissatisfaction,  for 
the  war  was  lasting  longer  than  had  been  expected. 

Under  such  circumstances  congressional  and  state  elec-  Election  of 
tions  were  held  in  the  autumn  of  1862.  On  the  whole  these  I 
elections  went  heavily  against  the  Union  party.  Horatio 
Seymour,  a  Democrat,  was  elected  governor  of  New  York, 
and  the  Democrats  were  victorious  in  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl 
vania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Wisconsin.  This  success  of 
the  Democrats  was  not,  however,  sufficient  to  affect  seriously 
the  course  of  the  administration,  or  the  development  of  na 
tional  policy.  Congress  continued  to  have  a  majority  of 
Republicans  and  Unionists,  and  only  in  New  Jersey  did  the 
Democrats  obtain  full  control  of  a  state  government.  In  the 
other  states  mentioned,  they  controlled  some  branch  of  the 
government  and  were  able  to  some  extent  to  prevent  action, 
but  not  to  put  through  their  own  measures.  Their  negative 
influence  would  have  been  more  important  earlier  in  the  war, 
but  by  this  time  the  national  administration  had  worked 
out  its  own  machinery  better  and  was  more  independent  of 
state  assistance.  Their  power  was  chiefly  exerted  in  refusing 
to  grant  state  money  for  bounties  to  encourage  enlistment,  in 
opposition,  generally  futile,  to  the  national  draft,  and  in 
refusing  to  allow  soldiers  in  the  field  to  vote. 

More  important  was  the  fact  that  the  possession  of  power  Democratic 
brought  clearly  to  light  the  existence  of  two  factions  within  factlons- 
the  Democratic  party.     One  faction,  which  was  headed  by 
Governor  Seymour  and  to  which  General  McClellan  belonged, 
believed  in  supporting  the  war,  but  in  protesting  against  the 
use  of  unconstitutional  powers.    Their  protests  were  rather  in 
the  way  of  a  record  to  be  used  later,  than  actual  interfer- 


402  POLITICS  DURING  THE   WAR 

ence,  though  Governor  Seymour  actually  failed  to  give  the 
national  government  as  complete  support  as  he  perhaps 
should  have,  in  enforcing  the  draft  in  New  York  city  in  July, 
1863,  when  there  was  dangerous  rioting  against  the  draft  offi 
cers.  The  leader  of  the  other  faction  of  Democrats  was  Clem 
ent  L.  Vallandigham  of  Ohio.  His  purpose  was  immediate 
peace,  without  terms.  His  supporters  came  to  be  known  as 
"Copperheads,"  and  a  large  number  of  them  were  organized 
in  a  secret  society  and  known  first  as  "  Knights  of  the  Golden 
Circle"  and  after  1864,  as  "Sons  of  Liberty."  This  faction 
dictated  the  legislative  policy  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois, 
and  thwarted  the  national  administration  in  every  way  pos 
sible.  In  1863  Vallandigham  ran  for  the  governorship  of  Ohio. 
He  had  been  convicted  in  1862  under  Lincoln's  proclamation 
of  September  24,  had  been  banished,  and  he  conducted  his 
campaign  from  the  Canadian  side  of  Niagara.  Many  of  the 
"War  Democrats"  opposed  him,  the  victories  at  Gettysburg 
and  Vicksburg  in  the  summer  of  1863  strengthened  the  ad 
ministration,  and  he  was  defeated  by  a  hundred  thousand 
majority. 

Completion  The  election  of  1862  had  little  effect  in  checking  the  prog- 

ress  °f  radical  ideas.  Possibly  it  prevented  the  consummation 
of  Lincoln's  plan  for  compensated  emancipation  in  the  border 
states,  but  the  movement  to  free  the  slaves  there,  neverthe 
less,  went  on.  It  was  fostered  by  the  enlistment  of  negro 
troops,  which  was  first  authorized  in  1862,  the  law  finally 
providing  for  the  freeing  of  slaves  who  enlisted,  with  their 
families,  and  the  payment  of  a  certain  sum  to  their  masters. 
In  1864  the  fugitive  slave  law  of  1850  was  repealed.  In 
the  same  year  Maryland  and  Missouri  adopted  emancipation. 
In  January,  1865,  by  the  necessary  two-thirds  majority,  Con 
gress  recommended  to  the  states  a  thirteenth  amendment  to 
the  Constitution:  "Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servi 
tude  .  .  .  shall  exist  within  the  United  States  or  any  place 
subject  to  their  jurisdiction."  In  December,  1865,  the 


LINCOLN'S  RECONSTRUCTION  POLICY  403 

acceptance  of  this  amendment  by  three  quarters  of  the  states 
was  announced  to  Congress,  and  slavery  ceased  to  exist. 

In  the  meantime  the  problem  of  the  reconstruction  of  the  Reconstmc- 
Union  was  beginning  to  absorb  political  attention.  This  JUSa.^" 
question  was  presented  from  the  beginning  of  the  war  by  the 
case  of  Virginia.  The  western  portion  of  that  state,  belonging 
to  the  Ohio  valley,  was  thoroughly  loyal  and  desired  incor 
poration  as  the  new  and  separate  state  of  West  Virginia.  The 
division  of  a  state,  however,  required  the  consent  of  the  state 
as  a  whole.  To  secure  such  sanction,  the  members  of  the 
Virginia  legislature  from  this  region,  with  a  few  from  districts 
in  the  eastern  portion  held  by  United  States  troops,  met  and 
organized  a  loyal  government,  which  professed  to  represent 
the  whole  state.  This  government  authorized  the  division 
of  the  state  and  the  erection  of  West  Virginia.  Their  action 
was  indorsed  by  Lincoln  and  by  Congress,  and  West  Virginia 
was  admitted  in  1863.  The  loyal  government  of  Virginia  was 
thereby  shorn  of  nearly  all  its  territory  and  supporters,  but 
since  it  had  been  recognized  for  one  purpose,  logic  demanded 
the  continuance  of  its  recognition,  and  it  continued  to  be  up 
held  by  Lincoln  as  the  legal  state  government  of  Virginia 
throughout  the  war. 

As  other  territory  was  recovered,  Lincoln  proceeded  to  Lincoln's 
organize  it  as  rapidly  as  possible.  In  1862  he  appointed 
Andrew  Johnson  as  military  governor  of  Tennessee.  This 
became  the  first  step  in  his  general  policy,  and  he  subsequently 
appointed  military  governors  in  Louisiana  and  Arkansas. 
In  restoring  civil  government  he  operated  under  the  confis 
cation  act,  which  had  created  penalties  for  treason  and  re 
bellion  that  involved  most  men  in  the  South.  On  December 
8,  1863,  he  issued  a  proclamation  based  on  his  pardoning 
power,  extending  amnesty  to  all,  with  the  exception  of  cer 
tain  classes,  who  should  take  a  prescribed  oath  of  allegiance. 
The  proclamation  further  set  forth  that  when  as  many  as  one 
tenth  the  number  of  legal  voters  of  a  state  in  1860  had  taken 


404 


POLITICS  DURING  THE  WAR 


The  Wade- 
Davis  plan. 


Election  of 
1864. 


such  an  oath  to  obey  and  support  the  laws  of  Congress  and 
the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  they  might  organize  a  state 
government,  which  should  so  alter  the  state  law  and  con 
stitution  as  to  abolish  slavery.  He  would  then  recognize 
such  government  as  the  legal  government  of  the  state.  Such 
governments  were  organized  and  recognized  in  Tennessee, 
Louisiana,  and  Arkansas. 

This  plan  very  much  displeased  the  growing  body  of  Radi 
cals.  Some,  such  as  Thaddeus  Stevens,  Chairman  of  the  Com 
mittee  on  Ways  and  Means  in  the  House  and  leader  of  the 
Republicans  in  that  body,  desired  to  punish  the  South,  to 
enforce  the  confiscation  act.  Others,  like  Charles  Sumner, 
less  bitter,  desired  nevertheless  to  secure  greater  guarantees 
for  the  just  treatment  of  the  negroes.  Many  felt  that  a 
government  based  on  but  one  tenth  the  voters  of  a  state  was 
unrepublican  and  should  not  be  recognized  under  the  clause 
of  the  Constitution  guaranteeing  to  every  state  a  republican 
power  of  government.  A  bill  embodying  a  compromise 
between  these  views,  and  known  from  its  authors  in  the  Senate 
and  House  respectively  as  the  Wade-Davis  bill,  passed  Con 
gress  in  1864.  To  this  bill  Lincoln  applied  a  pocket  veto, 
but  he  offered  it  as  an  alternative  to  his  own  plan  in  a  new 
proclamation.  He  still,  however,  offered  to  recognize  govern 
ments  formed  in  accordance  with  his  first  suggestion,  although, 
of  course,  his  recognition  would  not  carry  with  it  the  reception 
of  senators  and  representatives  by  Congress  and  full  equality 
in  the  Union. 

This  difference  of  opinion  led  many  of  the  Radicals,  as 
the  election  of  1864  approached,  to  look  for  some  candidate 
other  than  Lincoln,  whom  they  regarded  as  under  the  in 
fluence  of  Seward  and  as  hopelessly  conservative.  Chase, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  was  proposed  and  was  not 
unwilling.  It  became  evident,  however,  that  Lincoln  had 
been  successful  in  gauging  public  sentiment,  and  that  the 
great  body  of  people  had  confidence  in  him.  Many,  more- 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  405 

over,  agreed  with  Lincoln  that  it  was  too  dangerous  an  experi 
ment  to  substitute  a  new  man  in  the  midst  of  the  war.  The 
convention  which  met  at  Baltimore  pursued  a  conservative 
course.  The  name  Union  rather  than  Republican  was  em 
ployed,  Lincoln  was  nominated  for  the  presidency,  and  for 
the  vice  presidency,  Andrew  Johnson,  a  southerner  and  a 
Democrat,  was  chosen,  to  emphasize  the  non-partisan  char 
acter  of  the  movement.  Some  of  the  more  implacable  Radi 
cals  met  at  Cleveland  and  nominated  John  C.  Fremont  as  a 
third  party  candidate.  This  nomination  met  with  practically 
no  response,  and  opposition  was  actually  confined  to  the 
Democrats.  They  attempted  to  unite  their  two  discordant 
wings.  The  platform  was  written  by  Vallandigham ;  the 
nominee  was  General  George  B.  McClellan,  a  War  Demo 
crat.  Before  the  election,  Atlanta  was  captured  and  other 
victories  seemed  to  promise  an  early  peace.  This  favored 
the  Union  ticket,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt,  moreover,  that 
Lincoln's  popularity  was  continually  growing.  He  was  re- 
elected  by  a  majority  of  almost  half  a  million  in  the  popular 
vote,  and  212  electoral  votes  to  21.  Just  one  month  and  five 
days  after  his  reinauguration  on  March  4,  1865,  Lee  surren 
dered  and  the  war  was  practically  ended. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

See  references  for  Chapter  XXII.  Sources. 

Brummer,  S.  D.,  Political  History  of  New  York  State  during  Historical 
the  Period  of  the  Civil  War,  and  Porter,  G.  H.,  Ohio  Politics  during 
the  Civil  War  Period,  in  Columbia  University  Studies,  vols. 
XXXIX  and  XL.  Burgess,  J.  W.,  Civil  War  and  the  Constitution, 
II,  ch.  XXVIII.  Dunning,  W.  A.,  Civil  War  and  Reconstruction, 
1-62.  Hosmer,  J.  K.,  Appeal  to  Arms,  and  Outcome  of  the  Civil 
War.  Rhodes,  J.  F.,  United  States,  vols.  Ill,  IV,  V,  should  be 
used  as  far  as  possible.  Whiting,  W.,  War  Powers.  Willoughby, 
W.  W.,  Constitutional  Law,  §§  732-738. 

Adams,  C.  F.,  Lee  at  Appomatox  (essay  on  J.  Q.  Adams).   Emancipa- 
Cooley,  T.  M.,  Story's  Commentaries,  §§  1923-1927.     Davis,  J.,  **>*- 


406  POLITICS  DURING  THE  WAR 

Confederate  Government,  II,  158-193,  460-476.  Pierce,  E.  L., 
Sumner,  IV,  XLVIII-L.  Nicolay  and  Hay,  Lincoln,  IV,  chs. 
XXII,  XXIV;  V,  ch.  XII;  VI,  chs.  VI,  VIII,  XVII,  XIX,  XX; 
VIII,  chs.  XVI,  XX;  X,  ch.  IV. 

Biographies.  Foulke,   W.   D.,   0.   P.   Morton.     Gorham,  G.  C.,  Stanton. 

Hart,  A.  B.,  Chase.  Nicolay  and  Hay,  Lincoln,  a  monumental 
work  by  his  private  secretaries,  covering  much  of  the  history  of 
the  war.  Pearson,  G.  H.,  /.  A .  Andrew.  Seward,  F.  W.,  Seward  at 
Washington.  Woodburn,  J.  A.,  Thaddeus  Stevens. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
RECONSTRUCTION  TO   1872 

THE  close  of  the  war  found  the  country  confronted  with  Problems,  of 
problems  almost  as  serious  and  even  more  complicated  than  F 
those  of  the  war  itself.  First  there  was  the  necessity  of  re 
establishing  normal  conditions  of  government  in  the  seceded 
states.  Then  there  was  the  problem  of  readjusting  the  re 
lationships  of  the  various  branches  of  the  national  govern 
ment,  which  had  been  so  sorely  strained.  Again  the  national 
finances  must  be  adjusted  to  conditions  of  peace,  with  as 
littlt  disturbance  as  possible,  the  diplomatic  questions  aris 
ing  from  the  war  must  be  settled,  and  the  prestige  of  the 
United  States  restored.  Finally  the  South  must  readjust 
its  system  of  industry  to  meet  the  new  labor  conditions  in 
volved  by  the  freeing  of  the  negro. 

At  the  very  outset  the  most  deplorable  calamity  conceiv-  Lincoln's 
able  was  inflicted  on  the  country  by  the  assassination  of  tfoT51" 
Lincoln  on  April  14,  1865.  In  order  to  appreciate  his  loss, 
it  is  not  necessary  to  believe  that  Lincoln  could  have  saved 
the  country  the  mistakes  and  passions  of  reconstruction.  Cer 
tainly  his  sympathetic  and  tolerant  influence  would  have  miti 
gated  these  mistakes,  while  the  very  manner  of  his  death 
aggravated  the  passions  of  the  time.  It  is  true  that  the 
Confederate  government  was  in  no  wise  privy  to  his  death; 
it  is  equally  true  that  thousands  in  the  North  believed  it  to 
be  so.  Even  the  tender  and  great-hearted  Phillips  Brooks, 
in  his  funeral  sermon,  said,  "  Solemnly,  in  the  sight  of  God, 
I  charge  the  murder  where  it  belongs,  on  Slavery." 

Lincoln    was     succeeded     by    Andrew     Johnson,    who  Andrew 
promptly  announced  that  he  would  follow  -Lincoln's  policy.  J°hnson- 

407 


408  RECONSTRUCTION  TO   1872 

In  this  purpose  he  seems  to  have  persevered  so  far  as  in  him 
lay.  He  continued  Lincoln's  cabinet,  which  had  by  this  time 
grasped  the  details  of  its  business,  and  on  the  whole  the 
machinery  of  administration  ran  smoothly.  In  carrying  out 
Lincoln's  general  policy  toward  the  South  he  followed,  how 
ever,  too  much  the  letter  of  Lincoln's  precedent.  One  can 
scarcely  believe  that  Lincoln  would  have  pursued  unchanged 
the  policy  after  the  war  which  he  had  evolved  during  it. 
Johnson,  moreover,  in  action,  was  rough,  opinionated,  and 
narrow-minded,  and  policy  counts  for  little  in  politics,  if  not 
joined  with  method.  He  was  sure  to  raise  up  obstacles  which 
Lincoln  would  never  have  encountered.  Nor  could  Lincoln 
himself  have  pursued  his  policy  without  friction.  Not  with 
out  doubts  had  the  Radical  majority  seen  Congress  adjourn 
in  March,  1865,  and  the  problem  of  reconstruction  left  for 
nine  months,  until  its  meeting  in  December,  in  the  hands  of 
the  President.  When  this  responsibility  fell,  not  upon  Lin 
coln,  but  upon  Johnson,  a  southerner  and  a  Democrat,  appre 
hension  became  doubly  keen  and  criticism  was  inevitable. 

Johnson  recognized  the  governments  established  by 
Lincoln  in  Virginia,  Tennessee,  Louisiana  and  Arkansas,  and 
on  May  29  issued  an  amnesty  proclamation,  authorizing  the 
organization  of  civil  government  in  North  Carolina,  which  was 
quickly  followed  by  similar  ones  dealing  with  the  other 
states.  These  followed  much  the  same  lines  as  Lincoln's 
proclamation,  except  that  Johnson's  lifelong  distrust  of  the 
ruling  class  in  the  South  led  him  to  exclude  all  those  whose 
taxable  property  was  over  $20,000  from  his  general  pardon 
and  therefore  from  the  right  to  vote.  The  first  act  of  the 
voters  registered  under  this  authority  was  to  be  the  election 
of  a  constitutional  convention,  which  was  to  declare  the  or 
dinance  of  secession  null  and  void,  abolish  slavery,  and  re 
pudiate  all  debts  incurred  in  the  support  of  the  war.  Such 
constitutional  provisions  having  been  ratified  by  popular 
vote,  state  officers  were  to  be  elected,  and  the  Thirteenth 


PLANS  FOR   RECONSTRUCTION  409 

Amendment  ratified  by  the  newly  elected  legislature.  This 
policy  was  acceptable  to  the  South,  and  by  December,  1865, 
nearly  every  state  had  performed  these  acts,  had  been 
recognized  by  the  President  as  restored  to  its  old  constitu 
tional  relation,  and  had  elected  members  to  the  ensuing 
Congress.  The  President  had  withdrawn  all  obstructions  to 
commerce,  had  turned  much  property  back  to  the  state  gov 
ernments,  public  service  corporations,  and  individuals,  and 
had  liberally  extended  special  pardons  to  those  exempted 
from  the  general  amnesty.  He  did  not,  however,  put  an  end 
to  martial  law. 

When  Congress  assembled,  it  was  by  no  means  disposed  Attitude  of 
to  accept  the  President's  handiwork.  It  was  felt  that  so  Consress- 
great  a  problem  was  the  business  of  the  legislature  rather 
than  of  the  executive.  Moreover,  the  new  southern  legis 
latures,  justly  doubtful  of  the  ability  of  the  negro  at  once  to 
adjust  himself  without  friction  to  freedom,  had  passed  and 
were  passing  codes  of  law  designed  to  meet  the  new  situation. 
Many  of  these  codes  of  law  were  plainly  intended  to  make 
freedom  mean  as  little  as  possible ;  all  of  them  were  based 
on  the  principle  of  a  distinction  between  the  white  and  negro 
races.  Except  in  Georgia,  none  of  them  provided  for  the 
improvement  of  the  negro  by  education,  which  Lincoln  had 
considered  a  necessary  complement  of  freedom.  Congress, 
therefore,  refused  to  admit  members  from  any  of  the  seceded 
states,  until  it  should  have  time  to  deliberate  on  the  subject. 

The  decision  to  delay  the  reorganization  of  these  states  Freedmeu's 
was  made  with  the  almost  unanimous  consent  of  both  the 
conservative  and  radical  factions,  and  Senator  Fessenden,  a 
conservative  or  at  least  a  moderate, -was  made  chairman  of 
a  Joint  Committee  of  Reconstruction.  To  the  Judiciary 
Committee  of  the  Senate,  of  which  Trumbull  of  Illinois, 
another  moderate,  was  chairman,  was  confided  the  task  of 
providing  for  the  negro.  The  first  bill  introduced  was  one 
to  extend  the  life  and  the  functions  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau. 


410  RECONSTRUCTION  TO   1872 

During  the  war  tens  of  thousands  of  former  slaves  had  come 
into  the  Union  lines.  In  dealing  with  them,  there  had  been 
the  greatest  variety  of  authority  and  of  experiment.  Gen 
erals,  the  War  Department,  the  Treasury  Department, 
private  philanthropists,  and  speculators  had  all  tried  a 
hand.  They  had  been  worked  by  the  government,  loaned  to 
contractors,  given  separate  land  holdings,  and  furnished  with 
food,  medicine,  and  all  sorts  of  education.  To  bring  about 
some  kind  of  harmony  there  had  been  established  by  Congress 
in  March,  1865,  a  "Bureau  of  Freedmen  and  Abandoned 
Lands."  This  was  to  last  for  one  year  only.  The  new  bill 
continued  it,  although  it  was  still  designed  to  be  temporary, 
and  very  much  enlarged  the  functions  of  its  agents.  They 
were  given  absolute  power  over  contracts  entered  into  by 
negroes,  and  the  right  to  appeal  to  the  military  to  enforce 
their  decisions. 

Break  be-  This  bill  was  passed  on    February  6,    1866,  and  was 

president  promptly  vetoed  by  the  President.  He  asserted  that  it 
and  Congress.  was  inexpedient  and  unconstitutional.  Among  his  grounds 
for  taking  the  latter  position  was  the  fact  that  it  was  passed 
by  a  Congress  from  which  eleven  states  were  excluded. 
An  attempt  was  made  to  pass  it  over  his  veto,  but  the 
Senate  failed  to  give  the  requisite  two- thirds  majority.  On 
February  22  the  President  in  a  characteristic  and  intemper 
ate  speech  attacked  the  leaders  of  the  majority  in  Congress. 
The  President's  sweeping  veto  and  his  violent  speech  forced 
the  main  Republican  factions,  the  moderates  and  the 
radicals,  together  in  opposition.  The  President  had  to 
rely  upon  the  Democrats  and  a  few  "  conservative "  or 
"  administration "  Republicans.  During  March  it  was  a 
question  whether  he  could  rally  over  a  third  of  the  Senate 
and  so  defeat  the  congressional  plan.  The  crisis  came  over 
the  " Civil  Rights"  bill,  providing  for  the  absolute  equality 
of  blacks  and  whites  before  the  law.  This  was  passed 
over  his  veto  in  April. 


PLANS  FOR  RECONSTRUCTION  411 

Feeling  confident  now  of  a  two-thirds  majority,  enabling  Congressional 
it  to  overrule  the  President,  Congress  proceeded  rapidly.  A  plan" 
new  Freedmen's  Bureau  act  was  passed,  and  the  Joint  Com 
mittee  on  Reconstruction  soon  made  its  report.  It  declared 
that  no  legal  civil  government  existed  in  the  South,  and  that 
the  duty  of  establishing  such  a  government  lay  with  Congress, 
under  the  constitutional  clause  guaranteeing  a  republican 
form  of  government  to  every  state.  It  recommended  the 
passage  of  a  fourteenth  amendment  to  the  Constitution. 
This  amendment  embodied  in  its  first  section  the  essence  of 
the  Civil  Rights  bill,  declaring :  "All  persons  born  or  natural 
ized  in  the  United  States,  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction 
thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State 
wherein  they  reside.  No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law 
which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens 
of  the  United  States  ;  nor  shall  any  State  deprive  any  person 
of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law  ;  nor 
deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the  equal  protection 
of  the  laws."  Further  clauses  declared  that  the  war  debt 
of  the  South  should  never  be  paid,  nor  that  of  the  Union 
repudiated,  and  barred  from  officeholding  certain  classes 
of  southerners,  unless  they  should  be  pardoned  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote  of  Congress.  Finally,  it  provided  that  if  any  state 
abridged,  except  for  crime,  the  right  of  any  male  citizen  of 
proper  age  to  vote,  its  representation  in  Congress  should  be 
reduced  in  proportion  to  the  number  thus  deprived.  With 
out  the  latter  provision  the  late  slaveholding  states  would 
gain  power  by  the  emancipation  of  the  negro.  On  the  old 
basis  of  representation,  the  seceded  states  had  sixty-one  votes 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  ;  if  the  negroes  counted  as 
whites,  they  would  have  seventy;  if  the  negroes  counted 
not  at  all,  they  would  have  forty-five.  The  amendment, 
therefore,  gave  the  southerners  the  choice  of  negro  suffrage  or 
reduced  representation.  On  June  13,  1866,  this  amendment 
was  sent  to  the  states  for  ratification.  On  July  2,  Tennessee 


412 


RECONSTRUCTION  TO   1872 


Campaign 
of  1866. 


Election 
of  1866. 


was  recognized  as  reconstructed  on  the  grounds  that:  "By 
a  large  popular  vote  the  people  have  ratified  a  constitutional 
amendment  abolishing  slavery  and  have  declared  the  se 
cession  ordinance  and  the  war  debt  void,  and  their  state 
government  has  ratified  the  Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth 
Amendments  and  has  done  other  acts  procuring  and  de 
noting  loyalty."  This  represented  the  congressional  plan  of 
reconstruction. 

The  people  were  to  choose  between  these  two  plans, 
that  of  the  President  and  that  of  Congress,  in  the  congressional 
election  of  1866.  The  President  appealed  to  nonpartisan 
union  support.  A  great  convention  at  Philadelphia  on 
August  14  indorsed  his  policy.  He  had  the  assistance  of 
Thurlow  Weed,  Seward's  political  manager,  of  Henry  J. 
Raymond  of  the  New  York  Times,  and  of  many  others  who 
had  cooperated  with  the  administration  during  the  war,  as 
well  as  of  the  Democrats  of  North  and  South.  He  remodeled 
his  cabinet,  filling  it  with  his  friends,  except  for  the  Secretary 
of  War,  Stanton,  and  he  used  the  patronage  actively  to  ad 
vance  his  views.  Invited  to  assist  in  laying  the  corner  stone 
of  a  monument  to  Douglas  at  Chicago,  he  "swung  round 
the  circle,"  arranging  to  visit  and  speak  at  many  places  during 
his  trip.  This  was  the  first  time  that  a  President  had  en 
gaged  in  a  campaigning  tour,  and  the  character  of  his  speeches 
showed  him  at  his  worst.  They  were  coarse  and  superficial, 
and  undoubtedly  prejudiced  many  against  him.  A  riot  at 
New  Orleans  about  the  same  time,  in  which  many  negroes 
were  killed  and  the  police  were  implicated  in  their  destruc 
tion,  convinced  many  that  the  South  did  not  intend  to  deal 
fairly  with  the  freedmen. 

The  result  was  an  overwhelming  victory  for  the  congres 
sional  plan,  and  the  Republicans  secured  more  than  two 
thirds  of  each  house  of  Congress.  During  the  same  period 
the  unreconstructed  southern  states  were  considering  the 
Fourteenth  Amendment,  and  one  after  another  they  rejected 


PLANS   FOR  RECONSTRUCTION  413 

it.  They  believed  that  the  Supreme  Court  would  overrule 
Congress,  that  the  election  of  1868  would  reverse  the  position 
of  parties  in  the  North,  and  that  they  could  then  secure 
better  terms.  When  Congress  met  in  December,  1866,  there 
fore,  the  North  and  the  South  were  as  strongly  opposed  as 
ever ;  the  North  had  indorsed  the  plan  of  Congress,  the  South 
had  rejected  it ;  politically  there  was  no  sign  of  reconciliation. 

The  triumphant  majority  in  Congress  turned  to  the  "Thorough." 
leadership  of  Sumner,  the  idealistic  champion  of  equality, 
and  to  Thaddeus  Stevens,  the  remorseless  hater  of  the  South. 
Sumner  believed  that  by  secession  the  states  had  committed 
suicide  and  lapsed  into  the  condition  of  territories ;  Stevens 
thought  they  had  become  conquered  provinces;  both  con 
sidered  that  Congress  had  a  free  hand  to  make  them  over 
at  will.  Dissatisfied  with  Fessenden  and  Trumbull's  con 
gressional  plan  worked  out  during  the  preceding  session, 
they  secured  the  passage  of  additional  acts  on  March  2 
and  23,  and  July  19,  1867,  their  whole  policy  being  denomi 
nated  by  the  title  "Thorough."  The  existing  southern  state 
governments  were  disregarded;  the  South  was  divided  into 
five  districts  under  military  rule.  The  military  comman 
dants  were  once  more  to  register  voters,  excluding  all  whites 
who  had  ever  been  disfranchised  for  participation  in  the  re 
bellion,  and  admitting  negroes.  Upon  this  new  basis  a 
constitutional  convention  was  to  be  elected  in  each  state, 
which  should  draw  up  a  constitution  permanently  establish 
ing  negro  suffrage.  When  this  constitution  had  been  adopted 
by  popular  vote,  and  the  state  government  provided  for  had 
accepted  the  Fourteenth  Amendment,  reconstruction  might 
be  considered  complete,  but  members  elected  to  Congress 
must  be  able  to  take  the  " ironclad"  oath,  to  the  effect  that 
they  had  not  voluntarily  abetted  the  rebellion. 

The  compulsory  provision  for  negro    suffrage  was    the  Negro 
most  important  novelty  in  this  plan.     Jefferson's  philosophic  ro  rase> 
statement  that  all  men  are  created  equal  had  troubled  early 


414  RECONSTRUCTION  TO   1872 

constitution  makers,  who  nearly  always  desired  to  exclude 
the  negro  from  voting,  but  found  this  principle  in  their  way. 
In  the  thirties,  however,  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee  dis 
franchised  them,  and  they  voted  no  longer  in  the  South.  At 
the  same  time  the  rise  of  abolitionism  gave  body  to  the  demand 
for  equal  rights  in  the  North,  and  every  constitutional  conven 
tion  listened  to  discussions  of  negro  suffrage.  Often  the  ques 
tion  was  referred  to  popular  vote.  Before  the  war,  however, 
no  state,  outside  of  the  six  —  New  England,  except  Connect 
icut,  and  New  York  —  that  had  allowed  the  negroes  to  vote 
from  Revolutionary  times,  had  adopted  the  practice,  though 
popular  support  was  growing  and  almost  half  the  Republicans 
favored  it.  During  the  war  there  was  a  rapid  growth  of 
pro-negro  sentiment.  Lincoln  desired  negro  suffrage  sub 
ject  to  limitations,  and  even  Johnson  had  at  one  time  rec 
ommended  such  an  arrangement  as  expedient.  Congress 
adopted  the  policy  the  more  easily  as  it  applied  only  to  the 
South,  and  was  backed  by  the  claim  that  the  negro  needed 
the  suffrage  to  defend  himself,  and  that  the  negro  voters  were 
needed  to  maintain  Republican  supremacy  when  the  southern 
states  should  be  readmitted  to  participation  in  the  national 
government.  The  fitness  of  the  negro  for  the  suffrage  was 
scarcely  mentioned.  Northern  opinion  was  that  the  negro 
was  naturally  equal  to  the  white  man,  and,  in  the  absence 
of  any  conception  of  an  evolutionary  historic  development, 
it  was  believed  that  he  could  escape  the  consequences  of 
degradation  in  a  generation  at  most. 

"Tenure  of  To  intrust  to  President  Johnson  the  execution  of  these 

acts,  every  one  of  which  he  had  vetoed,  seemed  to  many 
suicidal.  Benjamin  F.  Butler  of  Massachusetts  and  others 
urged  his  impeachment.  The  charges  that  could  be  brought 
against  him,  however,  were  of  such  a  character  that  it  would 
be  difficult  to  secure  his  conviction,  and  the  majority  decided 
that  it  would  be  sufficient  to  tie  his  hands,  without  removing 
him.  To  accomplish  this  the  " Tenure  of  Office"  act  was 


IMPEACHMENT  415 

passed,  March  2,  1867.  This  act  reversed  the  time-honored 
decision  of  the  first  Congress,  that  the  power  of  removal 
rested  with  the  President,  and  gave  it  to  the  President  "by 
and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,"  thus  making 
the  method  of  removal  the  same  as  that  of  appointment. 
The  Senate  had  long  contended  that  this  was  the  correct  in 
terpretation  of  the  constitutional  provision,  but  only  the 
intensity  of  the  reconstruction  conflict  could  bring  the  rep 
resentatives  to  agree  to  a  practice  which  gave  so  much  power 
to  the  senators.  The  bill  was  intended  to  protect  Stanton 
in  the  office  of  Secretary  of  War,  but  the  sequel  showed  that 
this  was  precisely  what  it  failed  to  do. 

The  President  was  anxious  to  have  this  act  tested  by  the 
courts,  without  becoming  himself  personally  involved.  His 
plans  to  this  end  failed,  and  on  February  21,  1868,  he  boldly 
produced  a  crisis  by  announcing  the  removal  of  Stanton. 
The  radical  leaders  immediately  took  advantage  of  this  ap 
parent  violation  of  a  law  constitutionally  passed,  to  under 
take  his  impeachment.  The  trial  which  followed  marked 
the  high  tide  of  bitterness  in  the  North. 

The  House  managers  of  the  impeachment  held  that  it  Impeach- 
was  only  necessary  to  show  the  President's  unfitness  for  office, 
and  that  general  charges,  even  though  not  admissible  in  an  or 
dinary  court  of  law,  were  pertinent  and  sufficient.  The  Presi 
dent's  legal  counsel,  including  Benjamin  R.  Curtis,  formerly 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  William  Evarts,  held  that  he  must 
be  convicted  of  some  direct  illegal  act.  The  President  urged 
that  his  removal  of  Stanton,  even  if  contrary  to  the  Tenure 
of  Office  act,  was  justifiable  as  being  the  only  means  of 
bringing  that  act,  which  he  regarded  as  an  unconstitutional 
infringement  of  the  executive  power,  before  the  courts.  The 
case,  however,  eventually  turned  on  a  fine  legal  point.  The 
law  provided  that  cabinet  officers  were  to  hold  during  the  term 
of  the  President  by  whom  they  were  appointed  and  one  month 
thereafter.  After  that  period  the  President  could  remove 


4l6  RECONSTRUCTION  TO   1872 

them  without  consulting  the  Senate.  The  legal  arguments 
made  it  clear  that  Stanton  had  been  appointed  by  Lincoln, 
that  Johnson  was  serving  a  term  of  his  own  in  the  sense  of 
the  law,  and  that,  therefore,  the  removal  was  legal.  When 
the  final  vote  was  taken  seven  Republican  senators  and  all 
the  Democrats  voted  not  guilty,  making  over  one  third  of  the 
Senate,  and  the  President  was  acquitted.  On  May  26, 1868, 
he  appointed  General  Schofield  in  the  place  of  Stanton,  and 
for  the  remainder  of  the  administration  had  comparatively 
little  trouble  with  Congress.  The  seven  Republicans  who 
voted  against  the  impeachment  charges  had  been  moved  only 
by  their  conviction  of  the  President's  innocence,  and  recent 
opinion  has  approved  their  act.  At  the  time,  however,  they 
were  read  out  of  the  party,  and  in  most  instances  their  politi 
cal  careers  were  ended. 

Finance.  While  the  President  and  Congress  were  wrangling  over 

the  reconstruction  of  the  South,  they  were  forced  to  a  cer 
tain  amount  of  cooperation  with  regard  to  financial  recon 
struction.  The  first  necessity  was  for  the  reduction  of  ex 
penses.  This  was  largely  the  work  of  the  several  secretaries. 
The  volunteer  army  was  speedily  disbanded  and  the  navy 
reduced.  When  it  came  to  reducing  the  civil  establishment, 
which  had  been  expanded  to  meet  the  increased  administra 
tive  needs  of  the  war,  the  task  was  much  more  difficult ;  the 
interest  on  the  debt,  moreover,  was  enormous,  and  as  a  result 
the  national  expenditure  after  the  war  was  never  less  than 
five  times  what  it  had  been  before.  The  reduction  of  taxes, 
too,  was  slow.  In  1866  and  1868  the  internal  revenue  taxes 
were  removed  from  many  objects,  leaving,  however,  the 
excise  on  spirits  and  tobacco.  The  income  tax  was  reduced, 
although  it  was  not  repealed  until  1872.  The  main  dis 
cussion  arose  with  regard  to  the  tariff.  Many  of  the  rates 
had  been  raised  to  compensate  the  manufacturers  for  the  in 
ternal  revenue  taxes  they  were  obliged  to  pay.  When  the 
latter  were  removed,  it  was  urged  that  the  tariff  rates  should 


FINANCIAL  RECONSTRUCTION  417 

be  reduced,  also.  In  fact  the  repeal  of  the  internal  revenue 
taxes  probably  increased  the  amount  of  protection  over  what 
it  had  been  during  the  war,  but  it  is  difficult  to  make  an 
exact  estimate  because  there  was  still  another  factor.  Cus 
toms  were  paid  hi  gold,  and  as  gold  became  less  expensive, 
they  grew  practically  less  heavy. 

The  manufacturing  interests,  however,  had  grown  very  Payments  on 
strong  during  the  war,  and  were  now  for  the  most  part  solidly 
with  the  Republican  party.  Congress  therefore  refused  to 
lower  the  tariff,  and  in  fact  in  1867  increased  the  rates  on 
wool  and  woolens  by  a  reclassification,  which  was  embodied 
in  the  famous  Schedule  K,  later  to  become  the  chief  point 
of  attack  in  the  tariff  system.  Financially  the  result  was 
that  the  revenue  in  every  year  of  Johnson's  administration 
was  greater  than  in  any  year  of  the  war.  With  the  revenue 
thus  maintained,  it  was  possible  to  reduce  the  debt,  which 
at  the  close  of  hostilities  stood  at  about  three  billions. 
During  Johnson's  term  $271,496,000  was  paid  off,  and  other 
obligations  were  met  so  that  the  total  indebtedness  of  the 
country  was  reduced  by  almost  five  hundred  million  dollars. 
In  addition,  the  debt,  which  at  the  close  of  the  war  was  in 
many  forms,  was,  for  the  most  part,  funded  into  a  regular 
series  of  bonds. 

More  controversial  was  the  question  of  the  currency.  Currency. 
From  1836  to  1863  there  had  been  no  national  paper  money. 
The  amount  afforded  by  the  state  banks  was  about  two  hun 
dred  millions.  During  the  war  national  paper  began  to  flood 
the  country.  By  1866  national  bank  notes  amounted  to  about 
two  hundred  and  eighty  millions.  In  addition  there  was 
$433,000,000  in  unredeemable  greenbacks,  and  treasury  notes 
bearing  compound  interest,  many  of  which  were  issued  for 
small  amounts,  circulated  as  currency.  Money  was  abun 
dant,  but  it  was  cheap.  At  the  close  of  the  war  it  was  worth 
about  one  half  of  its  face  value.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury,  Hugh  McCulloch,  urged  that  the  first  necessity  was  to 


418  RECONSTRUCTION  TO  1872 

restore  the  national  credit,  to  raise  the  currency  to  its  face 
value,  and  that  the  proper  method  of  accomplishing  this  was 
to  reduce  the  amount  of  paper  in  circulation.  He  retired 
the  small  treasury  notes,  and  obtained  the  authority  of  Con 
gress,  April  12,  1866,  to  destroy  the  greenbacks  as  they  came 
into  the  treasury  to  the  amount  of  $10,000,000  in  six  months, 
and  $4,000,000  in  any  subsequent  month.  By  February, 
1868,  he  had  withdrawn  $44,000,000,  besides  the  $33,000,000 
which  was  a  temporary  issue.  In  addition  he  had  accumu 
lated  a  gold  reserve  from  the  customs  duties,  which  had  to  be 
paid  in  hard  money.  As  a  result,  the  value  of  the  currency 
had  been  raised  so  that  the  premium  on  gold,  while  varying, 
averaged  about  thirty  per  cent. 

The  "Ohio  To  many  this  progress  did  not  seem  desirable.  The 

war  finance  had  accustomed  people  to  cheap  money  and  high 
prices.  Moreover,  debts  had  been  contracted  when  money 
was  cheap;  their  face  value  remained  the  same  now  that 
money  represented  more  actual  value.  A  debt  which  repre 
sented  500  bushels  of  wheat  when  contracted,  now  required 
700  to  pay  off.  Senator  Pendleton  of  Ohio  devised  a  plan  to 
pay  the  debt  and  again  enlarge  the  currency  simultaneously. 
The  act  providing  for  the  issue  of  certain  United  States  bonds, 
known  as  5~2o's,  stipulated  that  the  interest  be  paid  in  coin, 
but  merely  stated  that  the  principal  be  paid  in  "  dollars."  He 
claimed  that  these  bonds  could  and  should  be  paid  by  a  new 
issue  of  greenbacks.  As  these  bonds  were  steadily  becoming 
due  and  amounted  to  $1,600,000,000,  the  country  would 
certainly  be  supplied  with  all  the  money  it  could  absorb. 
The  plan  became  widely  popular,  and  this  particular  detail 
of  financial  reconstruction  vied  with  the  southern  question 
in  attracting  public  attention  as  the  campaign  of  1868  ap 
proached. 

Nomination  The  Republican  convention  met  while  the  impeach 

ment  trial  was  in  progress.  It  indorsed  the  whole  congres 
sional  policy  with  regard  to  the  South  and  to  the  President 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1868  419 

it  stood  for  the  payment  of  the  whole  debt  in  coin,  and  it 
nominated  General  Grant  for  the  presidency.  The  nomina 
tion  of  Grant  was  due,  not  solely  to  the  popularity  resulting 
from  his  military  successes,  but  also  to  the  belief  that  the 
qualities  he  had  shown  as  a  general,  of  iron  will,  capacity  for 
selecting  subordinates,  organizing  ability,  and  sympathy  for 
the  southern  people,  were  those  particularly  needed  in  the 
presidential  office  at  this  time.  Time  brought  disappoint 
ment.  In  politics  he  had  no  clear-cut  general  purpose  as  he 
had  had  during  the  war  ;  the  men  to  whom  he  was  drawn  had 
dash  and  ability,  but  too  often  lacked  integrity  of  character, 
and  his  loyalty  to  them  often  sacrificed  public  interests; 
the  organizing  power  he  showed  in  the  field  unaccountably 
disappeared  in  government  administration  as  in  private  busi 
ness  ;  and  his  sympathy  for  the  South  was  counterbalanced  by 
his  soldier's  conception  that  law  must  be  obeyed  and  dis 
cipline  maintained'.  To  him  a  party  was  like  an  army,  order 
was  the  condition  of  victory,  and  he  became  a  partisan  of  a 
narrow  type.  His  habitual  silence,  however,  gave  small 
clew  to  his  political  views,  and  in  1868  he  was  an  ideal  can 
didate  in  that  men  of  divergent  opinions,  knowing  his  sterling 
personal  honesty,  could  combine  in  his  support. 

The  Democratic  convention  was  torn  asunder  by  the  con-  Democratic 
test  on  finance  between  Pendleton  and  a  conservative  faction   c01^61111011- 
headed  by  August  Belmont.     It  desired  also  to  reassure  the 
country  as  to  its  loyalty  to  the  Union.    The  result  was 
again  a  compromise,  as  it  had  been  in  1864.    The  platform 
indorsed  the  "Ohio  Idea,"  the  candidate  was  Horatio  Sey 
mour,    a   hard-money   man.     The    Republican    policy    of 
"thorough"  was  attacked.     Francis  P.  Blair,  who  had  sup 
ported  the  Lincoln  administration,  was  selected  for  the  vice 
presidency. 

The  election  of  1868  showed  that  the  war  issue  was  still  Election  of 
overwhelmingly    dominant.     It   revealed   a   more   compact   l868' 
sectionalism  than  had  any  previous  election.     Grant  gained 


420 


RECONSTRUCTION  TO   1872 


Fifteenth 
Amendment. 


President 

and 
Congress. 


in  the  Republican  states  and  lost  in  the  border.  The  Four 
teenth  Amendment  had  been  declared  adopted  July  28,  1868, 
and  all  the  southern  states  had  been  reorganized  and  were 
allowed  to  take  part  in  the  election  except  Virginia,  Missis 
sippi,  and  Texas.  Six  of  them  voted  for  Grant,  owing 
to  the  number  of  negro  votes.  The  Republicans  lost  in 
some  districts,  as  Ohio,  owing  to  the  currency  question. 
Grant,  however,  was  overwhelmingly  elected,  and  the  radicals 
retained  control  of  Congress. 

Thaddeus  Stevens  died  before  Congress  met  in  the 
autumn,  and  Benjamin  F.  Butler  became  the  radical  leader 
in  the  House.  A  number  of  younger  men,  however,  such  as 
James  G.  Blaine  of  Maine,  Roscoe  Conkling  of  New  York, 
James  A.  Garfield  of  Ohio,  and  William  B.  Allison  of  Iowa, 
were  coming  to  the  front,  so  that  Butler  never  exerted  the 
influence  that  Stevens  had.  These  leaders  were  encouraged 
by  the  result  of  the  election  to  cap  their  reconstruction  policy 
by  making  negro  suffrage  universal  by  means  of  a  con 
stitutional  amendment.  It  was  certainly  an  anomaly  that 
the  North  should  force  negro  suffrage  upon  the  South, 
and  not  allow  it  at  home,  but  a  constitutional  amendment 
had  been  discountenanced  by  the  national  Republican  con 
vention,  and  several  northern  states  had  recently  refused 
to  grant  the  suffrage  to  negroes.  Nevertheless  the  Fifteenth 
Amendment,  containing  this  provision,  was  rushed  through 
Congress  and  recommended  to  the  states  before  Grant's 
inauguration.  Its  approval  was  made  a  condition  precedent 
to  the  admission  of  Virginia,  Mississippi,  Texas,  and  also  of 
Georgia,  about  whose  previous  admission  a  dispute  had  arisen. 
By  a  remarkable  political  effort,  the  assent  of  three  quarters 
of  the  states  was  obtained,  and  the  amendment  became  part 
of  the  Constitution,  March  30,  1870. 

The  last  eight  years  had  witnessed  rapid  changes  in  the 
relations  of  the  three  departments  of  government,  whose 
coequal  importance  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  had  la- 


THE  SUPREME  COURl  421 

bored  so  hard  to  establish.  During  the  war  the  executive 
had  assumed  the  real  direction  of  political  affairs,  and  so  sane 
a  jurist  as  Benjamin  R.  Curtis  asserted,  in  a  pamphlet 
entitled  Executive  Power,  that  the  nation  was  practically 
living  under  a  military  despotism.  Then  followed  four  years 
when  Congress  became  all-powerful,  and  only  a  single  vote 
saved  the  executive  office  from  permanent  degradation. 
Grant,  while  not  proving  the  active  leader  that  was  expected, 
yet  restored  to  the  office  a  reasonable  degree  of  power.  He 
obtained,  for  instance,  a  modification  of  the  Tenure  of 
Office  act.  Lacking  the  legal  training  which  nearly  all 
Presidents  had  had,  he  sometimes  disregarded  the  constitu 
tional  limitations  of  his  office  in  a  manner  more  dangerous 
than  had  Lincoln,  but  in  such  cases  Congress  usually  checked 
him.  On  the  whole  the  equipoise  between  the  legislature 
and  the  executive  was  restored. 

The  prestige  of  the  Supreme  Court  had  suffered  severely  Position  of 
during  the  war.  Congress  had  ignored  the  Dred  Scott  deci-  court!Pr€me 
sion,  and  Lincoln  had  disregarded  the  decision  of  Chief  Jus 
tice  Taney  in  the  Merryman  case,  in  which  the  power  of  the 
President  to  suspend  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  had  been 
denied.  With  the  death  of  Taney  in  1864,  Salmon  P.  Chase 
became  Chief  Justice,  and  the  majority  of  the  Court  had  been 
appointed  by  Lincoln.  With  the  close  of  hostilities  the  Court 
at  once  took  up  cases  dealing  with  war  and  reconstruction. 
In  the  case  of  Ex  parte  Milligan,  1866,  it  declared  that  Congress 
had  no  right  to  erect  military  tribunals  except  in  the  actual 
locality  of  hostilities.  In  1867,  in  the  cases  of  Cummings 
v.  Missouri  and  In  re  Garland,  it  declared  unconstitutional 
a  provision  of  the  constitution  of  Missouri  debarring 
from  certain  professions  all  who  "by  act  or  word  manifested 
sympathy  with  rebellion,"  on  the  ground  that  it  was  ex  post 
facto  legislation.  These  decisions  enraged  the  majority  in 
Congress  and  threats  were  freely  made  to  cut  down  the  pow-  Decline  of 
ers  of  the  Court,  and  effect  changes  in  its  membership.  Courtme 


422  RECONSTRUCTION  TO  1872 

Under  these  circumstances  the  Court  wisely  refrained  from 
receiving  cases  that  the  "Johnson"  governors  of  Georgia 
and  Mississippi  endeavored  to  bring  before  it.  A  decision 
denying  the  constitutionality  of  congressional  action  would 
undoubtedly  have  been  ignored,  or  the  Court  would  have  been 
attacked.  In  1869,  in  the  case  of  Hepburn  v.  Griswold,  the 
Court  decided,  by  a  ^ote  of  five  to  four,  that  Congress  did 
not  possess  the  power  of  making  greenbacks  legal  tender  for 
debts  previously  contracted,  and  that  contracts  antedating 
the  greenback  law  must  be  paid  in  coin. '  This  decision  was 
very  unpopular,  and,  a  number  of  changes  in  the  personnel  of 
the  Court  occurring  about  this  time,  it  was  reversed  by  de 
cisions  in  the  cases  of  Knox  v.  Lee  and  Juillard  v.  Greeman 
in  1871. 

Revival  of  In  other  instances  the  Court  was~more  fortunate.     Chief 

Supreme  °      Justice  Chase,  presiding  over  the  Senate  in  the  Johnson  im- 
Court>  peachment  trial,  successfully  maintained  the  dignity  of  his 

position.  In  the  case  of  Texas  v.  White  the  court  dealt 
with  the  vexed  question  of  the  position  of  the  states  during 
the  war.  It  decided  that  secession  had  no  legal  effect  and  that 
they  had  continued  to  be  states  in  the  Union.  "The  Con 
stitution,  in  all  its  provisions,  looks  to  an  indestructible 
Union  composed  of  indestructible  states."  Republican 
governments,  as  understood  in  the  Constitution,  had,  however, 
ceased  to  exist  in  them,  and  the  duty  of  restoring  govern 
ment  rested  with  Congress.  Thus  congressional  recon 
struction  was,  in  general,  found  legal.  Before  Congress 
came  together  it  was  the  duty  of  the  President  to  act.  Thus 
the  governments  formed  by  President  Johnson  were  rec 
ognized.  During  the  war  there  had  been  de  facto  state 
governments,  and  the  Court  decided  that  their  acts,  where  not 
affecting  the  rights  of  the  national  government  or  of  the 
other  states,  should  be  held  binding.  The  principles  here 
laid  down  continued  to  guide  the  courts  in  the  many  cases 
involving  secession  and  the  rights  of  the  states  which  arose 


EXPANSION  423 

during  the  next  decade.  Fully  as  important  were  the 
"Slaughter  House"  cases.  These  arose  from  the  widespread 
idea  that  the  clause  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  referring 
to  the  "privileges  and  immunities"  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States  applied  to  all  their  personal  rights,  and  prohibited  any 
state  legislation  interfering  with  them.  The  Court  decided 
that  the  amendment  was  adopted  with  special  reference  to  the 
negro,  and  was  not  intended  to  diminish  the  rights  of  the 
states  as  they  had  been  understood.  Subsequent  decisions 
in  cases  involving  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  have  some 
what  modified  the  position  first  laid  down,  but  it  has  never 
been  given  the  extension  claimed  for  it  by  the  plaintiffs  in 
those  cases.  By  the  end  of  Grant's  administration  it  may 
be  said  that  the  Court  had  regained  its  position,  and  for  thirty 
years  it  was  freer  from  attack  than  ever  before  in  its  history. 

While  the  political  problems  resulting  from  the  war  at-  The  French 
tracted  the  greater  amount  of  attention,  those  of  diplomacy  m  Mexlco- 
were  also  pressing.  Napoleon  III  had  taken  advantage  of  the 
temporary  neutralization  of  the  strength  of  the  United  States 
to  bring  about  the  establishment  of  an  empire  in  Mexico, 
resting  upon  French  support.  During  the  war,  this  violation 
of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  had  to  be  endured,  but  when  the 
war  closed  there  was  such  strong  popular  feeling  that 
there  was  danger  of  a  war  with  France.  Seward  handled 
this  delicate  situation  with  great  skill,  keeping  the  peace 
while  he  secured  the  withdrawal  of  the  French  troops,  de 
prived  of  whom,  the  empire  of  Napoleon's  tool,  Maximilian, 
soon  fell. 

Seward's  view  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  was  broad  and  Expansion, 
positive.  He  had  for  years  anticipated  the  gradual,  peace 
ful  absorption  of  both  the  North  and  South  American  con 
tinents  under  the  United  States  flag,  and,  as  Secretary  of 
State,  he  did  what  he  could  to  accomplish  this  design.  In 
1867  he  negotiated  a  treaty  for  the  purchase  of  Alaska  for 
$7,200,000  from  Russia.  Sumner,  Chairman  of  the  Senate 


424  RECONSTRUCTION  TO  1872 

Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs,  secured  the  acceptance  of  this 
treaty  by  the  Senate,  partly  on  the  ground  that  the  country 
could  thus  express  its  gratitude  towards  Russia  for  her  friend 
liness  during  the  war.  Seward's  further  plans  for  annexing 
the  Danish  West  India  islands  and  Santo  Domingo  received 
little  sympathy  from  Congress,  which  was  distinctly  anti- 
expansionist  in  tone,  or  from  Sumner,  who,  while  he  shared 
Seward's  vision,  did  not  desire  the  inclusion  of  semitropical 
countries  likely  to  strengthen  the  southern  influence  in  na 
tional  councils. 

Grant  and  Grant  became  greatly  interested  in  the  Santo  Domingo 

Domingo.  question  and  pressed  the  matter  with  little  regard  for  con 
stitutional  limitations  on  his  power,  securing  a  treaty  of 
annexation  which  he  urged  upon  the  Senate.  This  treaty 
became  a  matter  of  bitter  controversy,  and,  when  Sumner 
ultimately  secured  its  defeat,  his  action  created  a  breach 
between  him  and  Grant  that  led  to  important  consequences. 
Other  questions  of  foreign  affairs  Grant  left  to  his  Secretary 
of  State,  Hamilton  Fish,  who  conducted  them  with  a  con 
servative  and  calm  good  sense  that  kept  peace  abroad  and 
prevented  agitation  at  home.  Throughout  the  administra 
tion,  revolution  raged  in  Cuba,  and  though  a  hundred  threads 
of  connection  threatened  to  draw  the  United  States  into  the 
conflict,  neutrality  was  successfully  preserved. 

Difficulties  Chiefly  Mr.  Fish's  skill  was  called  into  play  by  our  re- 

with  England.  jatjons  ^^  England.  The  victorious  party  in  the  Civil  War 
was  vindictively  indignant  with  the  people  of  that  country, 
for  their  failure  to  give  whole-hearted  sympathy  to  the  North 
during  the  struggle,  for  what  was  considered  the  premature 
recognition  of  the  belligerency  of  the  Confederacy,  and  for 
the  destruction  of  the  American  merchant  marine  which  was 
universally  attributed  to  the  Confederate  cruisers  built  or 
fitted  out  in  England  in  contravention  to  what  the  United 
States  claimed  were  the  accepted  laws  of  neutrality.  This  bad 
feeling  prevented  the  renewal  of  the  commercial  and  fisheries 


TREATY  OF  WASHINGTON  425 

treaty  of  1854  with  Canada,  which  expired  in  1866,  and  con 
troversy  arose  with  regard  to  the  water  boundary  between 
Vancouver  Island  and  the  United  States.  It  was  with  diffi 
culty  that  the  action  of  Congress  was  restrained  to  the  civility 
of  peaceful  relations.  Seward's  attempt  at  reconciliation, 
known  as  the  Johnson-Clarendon  agreement,  was  ignomini- 
ously  rejected  by  the  Senate.  Sumner  in  attacking  it  asserted 
that  England  was  responsible  for  the  prolongation  of  the  war 
by  at  least  two  years,  and  should  pay  damages  to  the  extent 
of  two  billions  of  dollars.  He  hoped,  with  the  cooperation  of 
his  friends  the  extreme  Liberals  of  England,  to  establish  this 
claim,  and  then  to  provide  for  its  liquidation  by  the  transfer 
of  all  British  possessions  in  the  western  hemisphere  to  the 
United  States  flag.  It  was  a  fantastic  conception,  passing 
over  the  border  from  the  sublime  to  the  ridiculous,  near  which 
many  of  the  great  minds  of  that  idealistic  generation  hovered. 
Such  a  proposal,  coming  from  one  so  influential  as  Sumner, 
brought  negotiations  for  the  settlement  of  the  Civil  War 
problems  to  an  abrupt  close. 

To  reestablish  them  was  a  matter  of  great  difficulty,  but  Treaty  of 
it  was  at  length  brought  about.  The  quarrel  between  Presi-  Washin^on- 
dent  Grant  and  Sumner  over  Santo  Domingo  came  to  a  crisis 
just  at  the  critical  moment,  and  Sumner,  the  chief  obstacle  to 
a  peaceful  settlement  with  England,  was  removed  from  the 
chairmanship  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs.  A  joint 
commission  representing  the  two  countries  was  appointed, 
which  drew  up  the  Treaty  of  Washington  in  1871.  This  made 
a  new  twelve-year  arrangement  with  regard  to  the  fisheries, 
granted  free  navigation  of  waterways  in  which  the  countries 
were  mutally  interested,  and  submitted  practically  all  dis 
puted  points  to  arbitration.  With  regard  to  neutrality  it 
laid  down  certain  rules  which  were  to  guide  the  arbitration 
and  were  to  govern  the  observance  of  neutrality  in  the  future. 
Th'j  resulting  court  of  arbitration  at  Geneva  ordered  the 
payment  of  about  fifteen  million  dollars  to  American  claim- 


426  RECONSTRUCTION  TO   1872 

ants  on  the  ground  that  Great  Britain  had  been  negligent  in 
enforcing  neutrality. 

Naturaliza-  Simultaneous  negotiations  resulted  in  an  adjustment  of  the 

long-vexed  question  of  the  diplomatic  position  of  naturalized 
American  citizens.  This  question  had  been  growing  con 
stantly  more  important  with  the  increase  of  immigration, 
and  reached  a  crisis  in  the  arrests  of  Irish-Americans  engaged 
in  the  Fenian  agitation  for  the  independence  of  Ireland.  In 
1871  Great  Britain  recognized  the  right  of  expatriation,  and 
between  1868  and  1871  George  Bancroft  negotiated  satis 
factory  treaties  with  several  German  states.  While  minor 
points  remained  unsettled,  the  main  American  contention, 
that  five  years'  residence  accompanied  by  legal  naturaliza 
tion  constituted  a  change  of  nationality,  was  adopted  and 
has  since  been  generally  accepted. 

Alien  In  the  meantime  the  remaining  states  of  the  South  were 

readmitted,  the  last  being  Georgia  in  July,  1870;  but  order 
was  far  from  being  established.  The  organization  of  the 
new  governments  had  fallen  chiefly  to  negroes  and  to  north 
erners.  After  the  war  thousands  of  soldiers  and  camp  fol 
lowers  of  the  northern  army  had  sought  their  fortunes  in  the 
South.  Most  of  those  who  looked  to  the  more  ordinary 
methods  of  business  and  of  farming  speedily  returned,  de 
feated  by  the  unaccustomed  economic  and  labor  conditions. 
The  bulk  of  those  who  stayed  justly  deserved  the  opprobrious 
name  of  "carpetbaggers,"  and  sought  to  rise  to  power 
through  negro  votes.  There  were,  indeed,  many  honest, 
philanthropic  men  among  them,  deeply  interested  in  the 
negro's  welfare;  but  their  ignorance  of  the  character  of  both 
negroes  and  southern  whites  rendered  them  almost  as  dan 
gerous  as  the  unscrupulous.  With  the  assistance  of  a  scatter 
ing  of  native  whites,  known  to  other  southerners  as  "  scala 
wags,"  and  in  the  North  as  "  loyalists,"  they  organized  the 
negroes  into  "Union  Leagues,"  and,  with  the  aid  of  favorable 
registration  laws,  brought  them  very  generally  to  the  polls  at 


GOVERNMENT  IN  THE  SOUTH  427 

the  first  elections.  In  the  conventions  thus  elected,  it  was  to 
the  carpetbagger  that  the  constructive  work  naturally  fell ; 
the  votes  were  cast  by  negroes  but  the  ideas  came  from  the 
North,  and  the  new  constitutions,  not  only  in  the  reconstructed 
states,  but  in  Maryland  and  Missouri,  were  framed  upon 
northern  models,  introducing  in  some  cases  the  town  system 
of  local  government.  In  some  states  there  were  clauses  dis 
franchising  thousands  of  whites;  in  others  a  spirit  of  amnesty 
was  shown. 

The  governments  established  under  these  constitutions  Governmental 
were  undoubtedly  the  worst  that  have  ever  existed  in  the  c 
United  States.  In  all  the  legislatures  there  were  large  num 
bers  of  absolutely  uneducated  negroes,  few  members  paid 
taxes,  and  a  majority  of  the  whites  were  susceptible,  in  vary 
ing  degrees,  to  corruption.  In  South  Carolina,  where  the 
excesses  were  most  picturesque,  an  illiterate  legislature  spent 
$128,865  for  stationery  in  four  years,  and  printing  in  one 
year  cost  $450,000 ;  pickles,  brandied  cherries,  a  fine  coffin,  a 
fine  cradle,  and  Colgate's  fancy  toilet  soap  figured  among 
the  legislative  expenses;  a  few  skillful  strokes  of  the  pen 
raised  a  bill  of  $1.88  to  $6880.  In  addition  to  this  crude 
extravagance  there  were  more  subtle  financial  stealings. 
It  was  a  period  throughout  the  country  of  disreputable  poli 
tics,  of  speculation,  of  the  increase  of  state  and  municipal 
debts.  The  ruin  of  the  South  tempted  individuals  to  specu 
late,  and  rendered  particularly  plausible  the  argument  that 
state  credit  should  be  extended  to  aid  the  work  of  economic 
restoration,  especially  that  of  the  transportation  system. 
Such  legislation  began  before  the  establishment  of  negro  gov 
ernments  and  continued  when  they  were  overthrown,  but  it 
was  most  reckless  in  its  scope  and  most  carelessly  adminis 
tered  during  the  "carpetbag"  period.  In  South  Carolina 
there  were  fraudulent  overissues  of  bonds  to  the  extent  of 
six  million  dollars,  and  in  four  years  the  state  debt  increased 
nearly  thirteen  million.  Even  the  educational  legislation, 


428  RECONSTRUCTION  TO   1872 

commendable  as  introducing  for  the  first  time  the  free  public 
school  system  throughout  the  South,  was  unfortunate  be 
cause  devised  upon  a  basis  far  more  expensive  than  its 
impoverished  communities  could  stand.  The  war  had  de 
prived  the  South  of  its  accumulated  capital,  reconstruction 
was  loading  it  with  a  burden  of  debt.  Hundreds  of  thousands 
of  acres  were  sold  for  taxes. 

The  Ku-  At  first  the  native  whites  were  divided  into  two  rather 

KluxKlan.  ^ttei  factions:  the  one  following  B.  H.  Hill  of  Georgia  and 
ignoring  the  new  government  in  the  hope  of  a  change  of 
heart  in  the  North;  the  other  including  Robert  E.  Lee  and  ex- 
Governor  Brown  of  Georgia,  advising  that  the  attempt  be 
made  to  guide  the  negro  and  control  the  new  machinery. 
Actual  suffering  and  an  indefinable  horror  of  negro  dominance, 
however,  soon  united  them  in  a  fixed  purpose  to  establish  a 
white  man's  government.  The  first  attempt  took  the  form 
of  terrorizing  the  negro,  and  was  carried  out  by  various  wide 
spread  secret  societies  of  young  men,  of  which  the  most 
prominent  was  the  Ku-Klux  Klan.  By  methods  running  from 
mischievous  intimidation  to  criminal  violence  and  wholesale 
election  frauds,  alien  rule  was  shaken  off,  first  by  one  state 
and  then  by  another.  The  very  first  legislature  elected  in 
Virginia  was  controlled  by  native  whites;  in  Georgia,  real 
alien  rule  lasted  only  from  July  15,  1870,  to  January  i,  1871. 
In  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina,  with  the  unusually  large 
white  loyalist  population,  the  negro  and  the  carpetbagger 
had  influence,  but  did  not  rule.  In  the  other  states  violence 
and  disorder  increased.  A  sense  of  power  and  of  injury 
incited  many  of  the  negroes  to  brutality,  and  now  blood 
shed  was  not  all  on  one  side,  as  had  been  the  case  in 
most  localities  immediately  after  the  war.  Yet  in  every  en 
counter  it  was  the  white  man  who  came  off  victorious.  It 
became  very  soon  evident  that,  whatever  the  statute  books 
might  say,  the  South  was  a  white  man's  country  and  that 
home  rule  would  in  the  end  mean  white  rule. 


ELECTION  OF   1872  429 

The  Republican  leaders  were  entirely  unwilling  to  yield  National 
either  the  principle  or  the  profit  of  negro  suffrage.  Grant 
used  his  authority  as  President  broadly  to  preserve  the 
negro  governments  by  use  of  military  force,  and  Congress 
conferred  the  broadest  powers  upon  him.  On  February  28, 
1870,  a  law  was  passed  placing  elections  under  Federal  control, 
and  on  April  20, 1871,  an  act  giving  the  President  great  powers 
for  the  suppression  of  the  Ku-Klux  Elian.  By  military  force, 
the  negro  governments  were  maintained  in  most  southern 
states,  which  meant  that  the  North  continued  to  rule  the 
South. 

This  condition  began  to  create  a  reaction  in  the  North.  The  Liberal 
In  Missouri  the  "Liberal  Republicans"  under  Gratz  Brown 
and  Carl  Schurz  separated  from  the  regulars  and  obtained 
control  of  the  state,  and  the  movement  in  favor  of  universal 
amnesty  and  the  cessation  of  Federal  interference  in  the 
South  spread  throughout  the  border  states.  Other  elements 
among  the  Republicans,  dissatisfied  with  Grant  because  of 
his  disregard  of  constitutional  limitations,  his  quarrel  with 
Sumner,  and  his  failure  to  institute  a  thorough  reform  of  the 
civil  service,  and  with  Congress  for  its  continuance  of  the 
war  tariff,  affiliated  with  those  of  the  border,  and,  as  the 
election  approached,  held  a  national  convention  at  Cincin 
nati.  It  was  understood  that  the  Democrats,  who,  led  by 
Vallandigham,  had  agreed  to  accept  fully  the  results  of  the 
war  and  the  three  amendments,  would  indorse  the  candidate 
of  the  Liberal  Republicans  and  thus  concentrate  all  elements 
opposed  to  the  administration. 

The   most  promising  candidate   suggested  was  Charles  Election  of 
Francis  Adams,   whose   diplomatic  prestige,   derived  from      72' 
his   English   mission   during   the  war,  had    recently    been 
enhanced  by  his  service  on  the  Geneva  arbitration.     The 
convention,  however,  chose  Horace  Greeley,  Editor  of  the 
New  York  Tribune,  whose  vitriolic  attacks  upon  the  Demo 
crats  extending  over  many  years  made  him  extremely  dis- 


430  RECONSTRUCTION  TO  1872 

tasteful  to  them.  Nevertheless  he  was  indorsed  by  that 
party,  still  drifting  leaderless  since  the  death  of  Douglas, 
and  he  began  an  active  campaign.  The  Republicans  re- 
nominated  Grant  and  stood  upon  their  record  of  the 
last  twelve  years.  The  result  showed  that  the  war 
issue  still  dominated  politics.  Grant  was  overwhelm 
ingly  elected.  Even  in  the  border  states  the  loss  of  the 
Liberal  Republicans  was  more  than  made  up  by  the 
negroes,  who  now,  under  the  Fifteenth  Amendment,  for  the 
first  tune  took  part  in  a  presidential  election  hi  those 
states. 

Causes  of  In  1860  the  Republican  party  had  been   composed   of 

m&ny  ill-fused  elements,  and  its  leadership  was  conservative. 
In  1860  the  North  would  have  fought  on  no  issue  other  than 
that  of  union.  The  cohesion  of  the  party,  for  four  years 
in  strife  with  President  Johnson,  the  rise  of  the  radicals 
to  leadership,  and  its  continued  popular  support,  need  ex 
planation.  Its  thorough  fusion  was  due  to  welding  in  the 
fiery  furnace  of  the  war,  while  its  financial  policy,  especially 
the  tariff,  belted  to  it  with  bands  of  steel  many  classes  of  the 
community.  It  had,  moreover,  become  synonymous  in  many 
minds  with  the  safety  of  the  Union.  It  was  but  necessary, 
in  the  language  of  the  day,  to  "wave  the  bloody  shirt,"  to 
rally  tens  of  thousands  to  Republican  candidates.  While 
the  North  was  ready  to  fight  only  for  one  supreme  object, 
the  war  being  joined,  a  constantly  increasing  number  had  a 
constantly  growing  program  of  other  things  which  might 
as  well  be  accomplished  now  that  the  opportunity  presented 
itself.  The  great  majority  wanted  the  negro  freed  and  wished 
him  to  have  an  opportunity,  while  a  good  proportion  did  not 
object  if  the  South  got  a  little  hurt  in  the  process.  Further, 
the  majority  in  the  North  were  not  content  to  overthrow 
Calhoun's  theory  of  state  sovereignty  and  national  agency, 
but  were  opposed  also  to  Jackson's  idea  of  state  rights  and 
a  minimum  of  national  activity.  By  the  establishment  of 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   NOTES  431 

national  banking,  national  currency,  a  protective  tariff,  by 
the  extension  of  its  functions  in  a  multitude  of  ways,  the 
national  government  was  making  the  nation  a  unit,  and  ap 
proval  of  this  general  policy  made  the  North  tolerant  of 
many  things.  It  required,  indeed,  the  distress  of  a  great 
financial  upheaval  to  break  the  hold  the  Republican  party 
had  obtained  over  the  North  and,  through  the  North,  over 
the  nation. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

Fleming,  W,  L.,  Documentary  History  of  Reconstruction,  con-  Sources, 
tains  material  gathered  from  many  sources,  illustrating  conditions 
in  the  South.  For  Congress :  Johnston,  A.,  Representative  American 
Orations j  IV,  129-188.  Macdonald,  A.,  Select  Documents,  nos. 
44-95,  99.  McPherson,  E.  M.,  History  of  Reconstruction.  The 
Sherman  letters  (edited  by  R.  S.  Thorndike),  ch.  VIII.  U.  S. 
Doc.  Report  of  Committee  on  Reconstruction,  1866.  For  an  intimate 
view  of  the  administration,  see  Diary  of  Gideon  Welles.  The 
more  important  Supreme  Court  cases  are  the  following :  Texas  v. 
White  (1868) :  7  Wallace,  700.  Slaughter  House  Cases  (1872) : 
1 6  Wallace,  36,  273,  746. 

J.  F.  Rhodes,  History  of  the    United  States,  vols.  V-VII,   is  Historical 
uniformly  valuable,  and  excels  the  majority  of  the  special  studies   accounts- 
in  their  own  field.     Garner,  J.  W.,  Reconstruction  in  Mississippi,   Executive 
chs.  II-IV.    McCarthy,  C.  H.,  Lincoln's  Plan  of  Reconstruction,   ^tructton 
Rhodes,   United  States,  VI,   1-50.     Scott,  E.   G.,  Reconstruction 
during  the  Civil  War. 

Burgess,   J.    W.,   Reconstruction   and  the  Constitution.     Cam-   Congressional 
bridge  Modern  History,  VII,  622-644.     Dunning,  W.  A.,  Essays  on 
Reconstruction,  chs.    II-IV.      Garner,  J.    W.,    Reconstruction   in 
Mississippi,  chs.  V-XI.     McCall,  S.  W.,  Stevens,  chs.  XIII,  XV, 
XVI. 

Elaine,  Twenty  Years  in  Congress,  ch.  XIV.    Chadsey,  C.  F.,   Struggle 
Struggle  between  President  Johnson  and  Congress  (Columbia  Univ.   Q^CSS  and 
Studies  in  History ,  VIII,  no.  i).     De  Witt,  C.  M.,  The  Impeach-   the  executive. 
ment  of  Andrew   Johnson.     Dunning,  W.  A.,  Essays   on  Recon 
struction,  ch.  IV.     Fish,  C.  R.,  Civil  Service  and  the  Patronage, 


432  RECONSTRUCTION  TO   1872 

ch.  IX.    Hart,  A.  B.,  Chase,  ch.  XIII.    Salmon,  L.  P.,  History  of 

the  Appointing  Power,  ch.  II. 

Conditions  F.  Bancroft,  Seward,  II,  chs.  XL,  XLII.    Adams,  C.  F.,  Adams, 

in  the  South.    ch  XIX     RhodeSj  United  States,  VII,  74-173.   Burton,   T.    E., 

Sherman,  172-226.     For  account  of  reconstruction  under  Grant: 

Fleming,  W.  S.,  Reconstruction  in  Alabama. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
RECONSTRUCTION    COMPLETED 

ECONOMICALLY  the  histories  of  North  and  South  during  Divergent 
the  reconstruction  period  were  as  different  as  those  of  two  theSouth. 
separate  countries.  The  features  of  southern  activity  were, 
first,  the  readjustment  of  agriculture  to  the  conditions  of 
free  labor;  secondly,  the  rise  of  new  industries.  The  dis 
tinctive  characteristic  of  southern  agriculture  had  been  the 
plantation  system.  This  was  based  on  compulsory  labor 
and  the  use  of  capital.  Cultivation  was  by  the  large  field 
system,  and  the  slaves  worked  in  gangs  under  the  direct  super 
vision  of  an  overseer.  Many  northerners  wished  to  break 
up  this  system  directly  by  the  enforcement  of  the  confis 
cation  act,  and  the  distribution  of  the  land  in  small  holdings 
among  the  negroes.  This  policy  failed  of  adoption,  and  the 
land,  with  the  exception  of  a  negligible  amount,  was  left  in 
the  hands  of  its  former  owners  or  restored  to  them.  The 
planters,  who  continued  throughout  this  generation  to  be  the 
governing  class  politically  in  the  South,  wished  to  preserve 
the  plantation  system  as  it  had  been.  Circumstances,  how 
ever,  forced  a  gradual  modification. 

Realizing  the  difficulty  of  dealing  with  free  negro  labor,  Decay  of  the 
the  planters  endeavored  constantly  to  attract  foreign  im- 
migration.  The  foreigners  landing  in  the  United  States, 
however,  found  little  to  attract  them  in  the  southern  offers 
of  employment,  when  the  northern  mills  were  offering  higher 
wages,  and  the  West  could  furnish  them  with  individual 
farms  at  low  rates.  The  disturbance  of  public  order,  the 
unwelcoming  social  condition  in  the  South,  the  absence  of 


434  RECONSTRUCTION   COMPLETED 

direct  steamship  communication  with  Europe,  and  the  fact 
that  the  southern  immigration  campaign  was  poorly  or 
ganized,  all  combined  to  turn  away  the  foreigner.  The 
South  had  to  depend  on  its  own  population  to  an  extent 
rare  in  American  history.  The  white  population  was  re 
markably  stable,  although  there  was  some  movement  to 
scantily  populated  districts,  as  southwestern  Georgia,  north 
eastern  Mississippi,  and  the  trans-Mississippi  states.  The 
negroes  were  moved  more  easily  than  before  the  war,  when 
the  planter  had  to  pay  a  considerable  sum  for  each  laborer 
he  secured.  There  was,  therefore,  a  tendency  for  them  to 
concentrate  in  those  districts  best  suited  to  them. 

Negro  labor.  Forced  to  use  the  negroes,  the  planters  started  in  1865 
by  borrowing  what  they  could  from  northern  bankers,  and 
engaged  their  former  slaves  for  money  wages.  This  system 
proved  unsatisfactory,  for  the  negroes  felt  no  responsibility 
and  could  not  be  coerced.  The  crop  was  in  most  districts 
a  failure,  and  in  spite  of  the  high  price  of  cotton  most  planters 
found  themselves  worse  off  at  the  end  than  at  the  beginning 
of  the  year.  In  1866  a  very  large  number  resorted  to  the 
share  system,  promising  the  negro  a  certain  proportion  of 
the  net  proceeds  of  the  crop.  This  was  more  successful, 
for  it  gave  the  negro  a  personal  interest  in  the  crop.  The 
negro,  however,  was  anxious  to  escape  from  the  gang  system 
and  from  supervision.  In  1868  and  1869  many  plantations 
were  divided  up,  and  each  negro  family  was  given  a  separate 
holding  to  work  for  itself,  paying  a  share  of  the  crop  and  sub 
ject  only  to  a  general  guidance.  Thus  certain  features  of 
the  plantation  system  were  very  generally  abandoned. 

Small  farms.  In  the  meantime  a  further  development  was  taking 
place.  Poor  crops,  the  heavy  taxes  of  the  negro  governments, 
discouragement,  and  other  reasons  led  many  planters  to 
offer  their  lands,  or  portions  of  them,  for  sale  at  reasonable 
prices.  Thus  the  poor  whites,  who  had  lost  little  during 
the  war,  found  it  possible  to  buy  small  farms  in  the  cotton 


CONDITIONS  IN  THE  SOUTH  435 

belt.  The  cultivation  of  the  land  in  individual  holdings, 
moreover,  removed  the  social  stigma  which  formerly  had 
prevented  white  men  from  working  in  the  cotton  fields  with 
the  negroes,  and  many  whites  took  up  such  holdings  on  the 
share  system.  Soon  many  whites  began  to  pay  a  fixed  rent 
in  coin  or  produce,  instead  of  dividing  the  crop,  and  became 
practically  independent.  The  negroes,  too,  as  soon  as  they 
could  afford  to  buy  the  necessary  farm  stock,  began  to  rent 
instead  of  share,  and  it  was  not  long  before  many  of  them 
bought  farms.  The  progress  toward  the  rented  or  owned 
farm  was  hastened  by  the  negro's  dislike  of  supervision  and 
by  laws  which  allowed  merchants  to  lend  goods  to  tenants 
on  crop  liens,  thus  enabling  the  latter  to  start  out  with  little 
or  no  capital.  The  result  of  these  changes  was  twofold. 
Poor  whites  began  to  break  down  the  monopoly  of  cotton 
culture  which  had  been  held  by  capitalists  employing  negro 
labor,  and  over  a  large  area  small  farms  independently  run 
began  to  take  the  place  of  the  plantations. 

Undoubtedly  the  net  efficiency  of  negro  labor  was  de-  Results, 
creased  by  the  withdrawal  of  coercion  and  supervision.  This 
was  to  some  extent  offset  by  the  entry  of  whites  into  cotton 
growing,  and  by  the  extension  of  cotton  growing  into  new 
regions,  as  a  result  of  the  use  of  fertilizers.  It  was  not, 
however,  until  about  1880  that  southern  agricultural  produc 
tion  reached  the  ante  bellum  totals.  '  Under  the  new  condi 
tions,  however,  the  enterprising  and  deserving,  whether  black 
or  white,  were  given  opportunities  previously  denied.  Of 
those  who  still  ran  plantations  somewhat  different  qualities 
were  required  than  before  the  war,  and  harder  work.  A 
greater  proportion  of  the  proceeds,  moreover,  went  to  labor. 
Gradually  the  old  planter  class  lost  its  grip  of  the  cotton  in 
dustry.  Many  of  its  members  went  into  professional  life, 
tried  their  fortunes  in  the  North,  or  vegetated  on  unsuccess 
ful  plantations.  Southern  agricultural  society  became  more 
diversified,  but  to  a  great  extent  the  class  which  had  played 


436  RECONSTRUCTION  COMPLETED 

so  large  a  part  in  the  history  of  the  country,  and  had  produced 
so  many  of  its  greatest  men,  became  a  memory. 

Rise  of  the  In  the  meantime  the  South  was  coming  to  depend  less 

lt  '  completely  on  its  agriculture.  The  development  of  non- 
agricultural  industries  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  been  a 
result  of  the  war.  It  had  been  delayed  in  part  by  the  exist 
ence  of  slavery,  but  it  had  begun  before  the  war,  and  the 
census  of  1870  marked  practically  no  progress  over  that  of 
1860.  During  the  seventies,  however,  it  secured  a  strong 
start.  The  development  of  lumber  began  immediately  after 
the  war,  and  furnished  much  of  the  capital  which  the  South 
so  much  needed.  The  exploitation  of  the  iron  and  coal 
about  Birmingham  in  Alabama  began  about  the  same  time. 
Cotton  mills  began  to  spring  up  in  the  piedmont  region, 
where  the  falls  of  the  rivers  were  to  be  found,  and  where  the 
poor  white  population  could  be  reached  and  drawn  in, 
hardly  any  negro  labor  being  employed  in  the  mills.  The 
capital  for  these  mills  was  generally  furnished,  half  by  the 
neighboring  community  and  half  by  northern  capitalists. 
The  first  superintendents  and  foremen  usually  came  from  the 
North.  The  poor  whites,  however,  had  been  accustomed 
for  generations  to  the  making  of  homespun,  and  they  had  a 
mechanical  ability  which  soon  proved  itself.  The  manu 
facture  of  cotton  so  near  the  source  of  its  production  natu 
rally  resulted  in  some  economies,  and  to  these  was  added  a 
saving  in  the  price  of  labor.  The  mills  were  generally  located 
in  small  villages  which  became  economically  dependent  upon 
them,  and  laborers  were  unable  to  compel  as  good  terms  as 
those  in  the  North.  The  southern  states,  too,  were  less 
active  in  passing  protective  laws,  and  cheaply  paid  child 
labor  was  abundant.  This  lowering  of  the  labor  standard 
gave  financial  success,  but  prevented  the  production  of  the 
finer  grades  of  fabrics,  for  which  skilled  and  therefore  well- 
paid  workmen  are  required.  In  the  meantime  the  southern 
railroad  system  was  changing  as  well  as  developing.  The  roads, 


LABOR   PROBLEM   IN   THE  NORTH  437 

during  the  seventies,  fell  largely  into  the  hands  of  northern 
capitalists.  They,  following  the  tendencies  of  that  "  Rail 
road  Age,"  developed  trunk  lines  running  through  from  the 
South  to  the  North,  at  the  expense  of  the  roads  running  to 
southern  ports.  Southern  business  tended  more  than  ever 
before  to  concentrate  at  New  York,  and  the  South  did  less 
business  directly  with  England  than  before  the  war.  These 
tendencies  were  in  the  direction  of  lessening  the  differences 
between  the  South  and  the  rest  of  the  country,  and  bringing 
it  into  closer  touch  with  the  national  economic  life.  The 
memories  of  the  war,  reconstruction,  and  the  negro  problem, 
however,  were  sufficient  to  hold  it  politically  apart. 

In  the  North  the  labor  problem  produced  by  the  war  Labor 
was  also  serious.  During  the  war  itself  it  may  be  estimated  fhe  N^orth" 
that  the  labor  of  a  million  and  a  half  men  was  withdrawn 
from  industry  for  three  years.  For  three  years,  also,  America 
ceased  to  receive  its  customary  supply  of  immigrants.  It 
is  not  entirely  clear  how  this  loss  was  made  good.  Women 
worked  more  than  previously.  Many  children  were  with 
drawn  from  school  to  take  jobs  or  work  about  the  farm. 
Labor-saving  machinery  both  in  farm  and  factory  played  a 
part.  It  still  remains  true  that  one  can  scarcely  account 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  volume  of  production  at  the 
North  until  1863  and  its  increase  after  that  date,  without  the 
supposition  that  there  was  a  general  intensification  of  effort 
under  the  strain  of  the  war.  In  spite  of  the  scarcity  of  labor, 
wages  did  not  at  once  rise  to  meet  the  increase  in  prices  due 
to  the  depreciation  of  the  currency.  The  result  was  the  for 
mation  of  labor  unions  of  various  kinds,  which  now  began  to 
take  on  their  permanent  shape.  The  close  connection  of 
the  slavery  agitation  and  the  labor  question  secured  for  the 
laborers  the  championship  of  many  of  the  antislavery 
leaders,  such  as  Wendell  Phillips.  By  means  of  strikes  and 
other  pressure,  wages  were  generally  raised,  though  even  at 
the  end  of  the  war  they  had  not  risen  as  much  as  prices.  At 


438        RECONSTRUCTION  COMPLETED 

the  same  time  agitation  in  Massachusetts  and  some  other 
states  resulted  in  legislation  favorable  to  labor. 

Land  and  The  close  of    the    war    threw  over  a  million  soldiers 

suddenly  back  into  private  life,  and  at  the  same  time 
caused  a  revival  of  immigration  on  a  larger  scale  than  ever 
before.  The  use  of  labor-saving  machinery  for  farm 
and  factory,  moreover,  continued  to  increase.  Yet  the 
expansion  of  industry  was  so  great  that  even  while  the 
army  was  being  disbanded  there  was  a  complaint  of 
a  scarcity  of  labor  and  the  overemployment  of  children  con 
tinued  and  became  a  permanent  condition.  The  greater 
number-  of  these  laborers  found  occupation  in  opening 
up  new  farming  lands  and  in  the  more  intensive  culti 
vation  of  those  already  broken.  In  the  sixties  the  system 
of  land  distribution  reached  the  climax  of  its  perfection.  In 
the  older  states  cultivated  land  changed  hands  easily  and  at 
good  prices.  In  Illinois  and  the  surrounding  states  there 
were  vast  areas  of  well-located  land  held  by  railroads,  land 
companies,  and  individuals,  which  was  sold  at  reasonable 
prices  and  liberal  terms  as  to  payment.  In  Illinois,  Michi 
gan,  Wisconsin,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and  in  all  states  west 
of  the  Mississippi  River,  there  was  public  domain,  which  could 
be  taken  up  under  the  Homestead  Act.  This  latter  land, 
however,  was  generally  in  regions  not  yet  reached  by  the 
railroads  and  attracted  those  who  had  little  or  no  capital. 
West  of  the  Missouri  were  enormous  districts  not  yet  sur 
veyed  where  the  squatter  could  settle  with  no  outlay, 
though  with  constant  danger  from  the  Indians.  There,  cattle 
driving  and  the  cowboy  flourished.  These  opportunities 
were  temptingly  displayed  to  the  ambitious  and  dis 
satisfied  all  over  the  United  States  and  northern  Europe. 
States  and  landowning  railroad  companies  maintained 
agents  abroad,  published  advertising  pamphlets  in  many 
languages,  and  supplied  the  intending  immigrant  with  assist 
ance. 


CONDITIONS  IN  THE  NORTH  439 

The  whole  North  was  in  a  state  of  flux.  Native  popu-  Migration, 
lation  was  everywhere  moving  out  toward  the  frontier,  even 
from  such  newly  settled  states  as  Wisconsin.  Its  place 
was  taken  by  migrants  from  the  older  states  and  by  the 
European  immigrants,  who  settled  most  thickly  in  the  East, 
and  then,  leaving  a  comparatively  small  number  in  the 
intermediate  region,  furnished  an  important  element  in 
Illinois  and  beyond.  Directly  north  of  the  Ohio,  negro 
migration  from  the  South  was  a  factor.  To  the  customary 
causes  of  movement  must  be  added  the  fact  that  labor-saving 
machinery  was  beginning  to  reduce  the  number  required  for 
farm  management,  and  purely  agricultural  counties  in  set 
tled  areas,  even  in  Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  lost  population,  while 
maintaining  and  increasing  the  volume  of  their  agricultural 
production.  The  disbanding  of  the  army,  also,  furnished  a 
class  alert  to  all  new  opportunities. 

Development  was  greatest  in  the  immediate  valley  of  Expansion, 
the  Mississippi  —  in  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Minnesota, 
and  also  to  a  less  degree  in  Missouri,  Mississippi,  and  Arkan 
sas.  Between  1860  and  1870,  two  hundred  and  seven  thou 
sand  farms  were  opened  up  in  those  states.  The  advance  up 
the  Missouri  valley  did  not  involve  so  many  settlers,  but  the 
proportion  of  increase  was  even  greater;  the  population  of 
Kansas  tripled,  and  it  became  a  state  in  1861,  that  of  Ne 
braska  more  than  quadrupled,  and  it  became  a  state  in  1867. 
Much  of  the  new  settlement  in  Missouri  and  Iowa  was  along 
this  stream,  and  in  all,  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  farms 
were  opened  up. 

A  good  proportion  of  the  labor  supply  was  employed  Exploitation 
in  the  work  of  exploiting  the  natural  resources  of  the  country,   resources. 
The  adventurous  sought  to  renew  the  scenes  of  California 
in  Nevada  and  Colorado,  which  became  states  in  1864  and 
1876  respectively,  and  the  Far  West  grew  in  population, 
though  not   phenomenally.      In  the   upper   Northwest,   in 
Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota,  with  their  untouched 


440  RECONSTRUCTION   COMPLETED 

forests  and  swift  streams,  the  lumber  industry  was  making 
rapid  advances.  In  New  York  and  Michigan,  great  fortunes 
were  made  in  salt,  while  in  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  West 
Virginia,  the  utilization  of  petroleum  and  natural  gas  was 
.  turning  whole  rural  areas  into  populous  districts,  served  by  a 

network  of  railroads  and  pipe  lines. 

Manufactur-          The  development  of  manufacturing  was  prodigious.     Six 
tariff!1  leading  occupations  employed  in  1870  three  hundred  and  sixty 

thousand  more  laborers  than  in  1860.  In  the  West,  flouring 
and  tanning,  being  based  on  native  products,  flourished  ex 
ceedingly.  New  machinery  was  invented,  and  great  factories 
were  erected  in  St.  Louis,  Minneapolis,  Milwaukee,  and 
other  centers.  In  the  East  undertakings  of  all  sorts  grew 
apace,  stimulated  during  the  war  by  government  contracts 
and  nourished  by  the  tariff,  into  a  development  somewhat 
unnatural.  The  tendency  here  was  toward  diversification 
and  the  manufacture  of  finer  products  and  specialties.  In 
New  England  the  mills  dotted  the  country  wherever  water 
power  existed,  for  transmission  of  power  had  not  yet  been 
made  possible.  Many  of  the  mill  companies  owned  their 
villages,  with  stores  and  even  banks,  and  their  employees 
were  much  at  their  mercy.  Already,  however,  in  the  seven 
ties  water  power  was  not  sufficient,  and  many  industries  were 
concentrating  in  large  towns  and  cities  on  the  coast,  such  as 
Fall  River,  to  which  coal  could  be  brought  by  water.  Here 
labor  was  more  independent  than  in  the  isolated  mill  villages. 
The  native  population  was  employed  to  a  decreasing  extent 
in  these  mills,  the  main  reliance  of  the  New  England  manu 
facturer  being  the  Irish,  English,  and  French  Canadian  im 
migrant.  The  spread  of  manufacturing  in  the  West  strength 
ened  the  sentiment  in  favor  of  protection,  increasing  the 
area  which  might  be  benefited.  While  there  was  constant 
agitation  for  tariff  reform,  the  war  rates  were  in  general 
maintained.  There  was  a  horizontal  reduction  of  10  per 
cent  in  1872,  but  rates  were  restored  in  1875. 


TRANSPORTATION  441 

This  was  distinctly  a  railroad  age.  The  closing  of  the  Transporta- 
Mississippi  during  the  war  had  developed  the  habit  of  water.y 
relying  on  the  railroads  instead  of  on  that  river,  and  its 
tonnage  decreased  from  468,210.34  in  1860  to  348,201.44 
in  1870.  The  Confederate  cruisers  had  caused  American 
owners  of  seagoing  ships  to  sell  them,  or  lay  them  up  during 
the  war.  The  advantage  which  the  English  thus  gained, 
coupled  with  the  fact  that  the  iron  ships  now  becoming  pop 
ular  could  be  produced  most  cheaply  in  England,  made  a 
revival  of  the  American  merchant  marine  difficult.  Far- 
sighted  men  like  Commodore  Vanderbilt  turned  their  capital 
from  ships  to  railroads.  The  use  of  petroleum  destroyed 
the  whaling  industry  by  supplanting  the  use  of  whale  oil. 
Only  on  the  Great  Lakes  did  American  shipping  increase. 
Railroad  construction,  on  the  other  hand,  went  forward  Railroads, 
rapidly.  States,  cities,  counties,  and  individual  farmers 
loaned  their  credit  to  help  construct  lines  of  local  utility. 
Trunk  lines  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  coast  were  com 
pleted  and  improved,  and  after  the  war  the  long  talked  of  proj 
ect  of  a  transcontinental  line  was  pressed  to  completion  under 
the  fostering  aid  of  national  land  grants  and  by  Chinese  coolie 
labor.  In  1869  the  Union  Pacific  was  completed,  and,  with 
the  laying  of  the  first  permanently  successful  Atlantic  cable 
in  1866,  it  marked  a  decided  step  in  the  binding  of  the  world 
together.  Railroad  building  was  pressed  beyond  the  needs 
of  the  population,  with  the  hope  of  building  up  settlements 
along  the  routes;  1177  miles  were  reported  constructed  in 
1865;  in  1870,  5525;  in  1871,  7760;  in  1872,  6167. 

All    these    undertakings    required    capital.     The    occu-  Speculation 

1  ....  .       and  credit. 

pation  of  new  land  meant  tens  of  thousands  of  farmers  in 
debt  for  the  land  itself  and  for  its  improvements;  manu 
facturers  invested  to  the  limit  of  their  credit.  While  man 
ufacturing  was  mostly  carried  on  by  partnerships,  corpora 
tions  were  becoming  more  numerous.  Especially  railroads 
were  so  organized.  In  general  they  were  built  on  their  bond 


442  RECONSTRUCTION  COMPLETED 

issues  and  their  stock,  and  in  many  cases  a  part  of  the  bonds 
themselves  represented  a  capitalization  of  future  profits  rather 
than  actual  expenditure.  The  country  was  prosperous  and 
was  accumulating  capital,  but  it  was  spending  more  than  it 
accumulated  in  enterprises  not  immediately  remunerative,  and 
it  was  creating  obligations  far  in  excess  of  what  it  actually 
spent.  Fortunes  were  easily  made,  and  their  possessors  in 
dulged  in  a  riot  of  extravagant  and  ostentatious  living.  Im 
ports  grew  more  rapidly  than  exports.  In  1860  they  stood 
$335,200,000  to  $373,100,000,  in  1872  $617,600,000  to  $501,- 
100,000.  Much  of  this  importation  was  of  luxuries  and  non 
productive  material.  To  pay  for  it  coin  was  drawn  rapidly 
from  the  country,  and  although  the  mines  were  turning  out 
great  amounts  of  precious  metals  and  the  government  was 
minting  it  rapidly,  the  country  was  forced  to  do  its  business 
very  largely  in  the  government's  paper  credit  currency. 
Currency.  The  currency  remained  in  a  chaotic  condition.  The 

premium  of  gold  constantly  varied.  It  always  went  up  in 
the  autumn  when  there  was  a  great  drain  upon  the  East  for 
money  with  which  to  move  the  crops.  McCulloch  at  such 
times  was  in  the  habit  of  selling  gold  from  the  reserve  which 
he  had  established  for  the  government,  and,  by  supplying 
what  the  market  needed,  reducing  the  gold  premium.  He 
considered  it  his  duty  to  keep  the  value  of  money  as  nearly 
constant  as  possible.  In  1869  Jay  Gould  and  James  Fisk, 
two  New  York  speculators  who  controlled  the  Erie  Railroad 
and  many  other  institutions  and  were  in  close  connection 
with  Tammany  Hall,  sought  to  corner  gold.  They  brought 
to  bear  upon  President  Grant  every  resource  of  argument 
and  upon  his  confidential  advisers  every  temptation  of 
bribery,  to  reverse  McCulloch's  policy  and  refrain  from  inter 
ference  with  the  market.  They  seemed  at  first  to  have  suc 
ceeded,  and  on  "Black  Friday,"  September  24,  forced  the 
premium  up  to  war-time  rates.  Grant,  however,  was  finally 
convinced  of  the  dishonesty  of  their  purposes  and  methods, 


PANIC  OF   1873  443 

and  ordered  the  disbursement  of  enough  gold  to  stay  the 
threatened  panic.  The  administration,  however,  failed  to 
recommend  and  Congress  to  adopt  any  comprehensive  plan 
of  reform,  and  the  currency  remained  a  constant  source  of 
uncertainty  and  danger. 

In  1873  credit  became  particularly  overstrained.  In  Panic  of 
September  Jay  Cooke  and  Company  of  Philadelphia,  the  l873' 
most  conspicuous  financial  house  in  the  country,  failed.  It 
was  undertaking  to  finance  a  second  great  transcontinental 
road,  the  Northern  Pacific,  a  proposition  perfectly  sound,  but 
the  returns  from  which  were  too  far  in  the  future.  This 
failure  proved  to  be  the  signal  of  universal  distress,  and  the 
country  was  soon  in  the  throes  of  the  worst  financial  disturb 
ance  since  1837.  As  in  that  case  the  panic  but  ushered  in  a 
period  of  economic  distress  from  which  the  country  did  not 
recover  for  fully  five  years.  Banks  failed,  great  mill  owners, 
like  the  Spragues  of  Rhode  Island,  went  into  bankruptcy, 
one  fifth  of  the  railroad  investment  of  the  country  was  sold 
under  foreclosure,  and  a  still  greater  proportion  passed  into 
the  hands  of  receivers. 

The  breakdown  of  the  spurious  prosperity  which  had  The  crisis 
tempted  so  many  beyond  their  depth  was  accompanied  by 
astounding  revelations  of  official  corruption  tainting  the  fore 
most  men  in  the  nation.  The  most  important  single  instance 
was  that  of  the  Credit  Mobilier,  an  organization  which  was 
formed  to  build  and  finance  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  and 
which,  it  was  now  discovered,  had  scattered  its  stock  at 
nominal  prices  among  members  of  Congress  to  prevent  any 
interference  with  its  land  grants.  This  scandal  was  hinted 
at  before  the  election  of  1872,  and  was  made  public  by  a  con 
gressional  investigation  soon  afterwards.  For  the  next  four 
years  scandal  followed  scandal,  affecting  every  department 
of  the  national  government,  even  the  judiciary.  The  Secre 
tary  of  War,  General  Belknap,  was  proved  to  have  taken 
bribes,  and  was  impeached  in  1876 ;  and  in  1875  the  un- 


444 


RECONSTRUCTION   COMPLETED 


Indian 
affairs. 


Election 
of  1874. 


Samuel  J. 
Tilden. 


earthing  of  the  notorious  Whisky  Ring,  which  in  ten  months 
defrauded  the  government  of  over  a  million  and  a  half  in 
taxes,  involved  General  Babcock,  the  President's  private 
secretary. 

Perhaps  the  most  serious  maladministration  was  in 
regard  to  Indian  affairs.  The  government  and  the  tribes 
were  alike  constantly  defrauded,  and  some  portion  of  the 
difficulties  with  the  Indians  during  this  period  must  be  at 
tributed  to  this  cause.  Sitting  Bull  and  his  "Hostiles"  were 
constantly  supplied  with  arms  and  goods  from  the  surround 
ing  agencies,  by  which  means  they  were  enabled,  from  1868 
to  1875,  to  strengthen  themselves.  In  1875  they  began  war 
and  in  1876  completely  defeated  General  Custer  in  the  last 
great  Indian  victory.  Thus  the  sting  of  military  defeat 
was  added  to  the  difficulties  accumulating  about  the  adminis 
tration. 

These  revelations,  combined  with  the  financial  distress, 
for  the  first  time  shook  the  hold  of  the  Republicans  on  the 
North.  In  the  election  of  1874,  the  Democrats  won  control 
of  the  House  of  Representatives.  This  triumph  was  appreci 
ated  more  because  of  the  hope  it  excited  of  winning  the  great 
contest  two  years  later,  than  for  its  intrinsic  value,  for  the 
Republicans  maintained  their  hold  of  the  Senate  and  the 
presidency.  In  preparing  for  this  contest  the  Democrats 
put  aside  the  idea  of  alluring  the  discontented  Republicans 
and  chose  for  their  candidate  a  thoroughgoing  Democrat, 
Samuel  J.  Tilden,  leader  of  his  party  in  New  York. 

The  reasons  for  the  selection  of  Tilden  emphasize  the 
entrance  of  new  factors  into  politics.  His  claim  to  recogni 
tion  was  based  primarily  on  his  activity  as  a  reformer  and 
administrator.  The  period  of  national  exploitation  was 
passing,  and  success  would  depend  more  and  more  on  special 
knowledge,  on  mastery  of  details,  on  careful  calculation. 
The  population  was  becoming  more  dense,  the  increase  of 
immigration  was  rendering  it  less  homogeneous,  and  the 


MUNICIPAL  REFORM  445 

activity  of  the  government  was  of  necessity  being  extended 
to  many  fields  previously  left  to  private  initiative.  The  dis 
cussion  of  fundamental  principles  began  to  occupy  less  atten 
tion,  and  public  speeches  became  more  statistical. 

Especially  new  to  Americans  were  the  problems  of  large  Municipal 
municipalities.  It  was  really  only  after  the  war  that  Boston,  pro 
Philadelphia,  Chicago,  and  San  Francisco  became  large  cities, 
and  New  York  was  not  old  enough  to  have  solved  the  diffi 
culties  of  a  closely  packed  population.  The  questions  of 
sewerage,  of  water  supply,  of  street  making  and  lighting, 
of  rapid  transit,  of  the  uplifting  of  the  slums,  were  all  new; 
and  the  popular  belief  in  the  fundamental  difference  between 
European  government  and  American  was  too  strong  to  allow 
recourse  to  the  methods  of  European  cities.  The  lower  class 
of  politicians  seem  to  have  been  the  first  to  realize  the  possi 
bilities  of  this  new  development.  The  enormous  sums  needed 
for  the  construction  of  necessary  public  works,  and  the  pro 
digious  profits  that  might  flow  from  franchises  to  public  serv 
ice  corporations,  they  looked  upon  as  unparalleled  opportuni 
ties  for  successful  fraud ;  and  the  outgrown  system  of  mu 
nicipal  government  enabled  them  to  secure  the  control  of  these 
new  sources  of  wealth.  In  New  York  city  there  was  the 
greatest  concentration  of  opportunity,  and  the  most  shame 
less  advantage  was  taken  of  it. 

In  that  city  Tammany  Hall  governed.  Its  influence  Overthrow 
was  based  upon  the  good-natured  camaraderie  of  its  district  Tweed, 
leaders,  its  charitable  care  for  a  dependent  foreign  popula 
tion,  a  system  of  organization  which  had  been  developing 
for  eighty  years,  and  a  total  disregard  of  political  and  busi 
ness  ethics.  At  this  time  its  leaders  were  William  M.  Tweed 
and  Peter  B.  Sweeney.  In  league  with  Jay  Gould  and  the 
Erie  Railroad,  they  were  able  to  control  for  all  practical  pur 
poses  the  state  legislature  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
judiciary.  In  1871  this  combination  was  at  the  height  of 
its  power,  but  during  that  year  the  iniquities  of  its  leaders, 


446 


RECONSTRUCTION   COMPLETED 


National 
adminis 
trative 
problems. 


Civil  service 
reform. 


which  had  long  been  known,  were  proved  to  the  point  of 
legal  requirement,  and  the  gang  was  driven  from  power.  So 
profitable  were  their  methods  that  at  an  early  stage  in  the 
investigation  they  offered  a  bribe  of  five  million  dollars  to 
secure  a  halt  in  proceedings.  A  leading  part  in  the  popular 
uprising  which  brought  about  this  result  was  taken  by  Thomas 
Nast,  whose  biting  cartoons  spoke  a  universal  language  com 
prehended  by  native  and  foreigner,  by  literate  and  illiterate 
alike.  The  planning  of  the  campaign,  however,  was  largely 
the  work  of  Mr.  Tilden.  He  became  identified  with  the 
cause  of  good  government,  was  in  1874  elected  governor  of 
the  state,  and  seemed  to  be  a  logical  candidate  for  the  presi 
dency  at  a  time  when  reform  had  become  an  issue. 

Although  the  choice  of  a  candidate  because  of  a  record 
for  purging  municipal  and  state  ills  and  a  talent  for  the  de 
tails  of  administration  was  a  new  idea,  it  was  in  line  with  the 
trend  of  development.  For  more  than  half  the-  time  since 
Tilden's  candidacy  the  presidency  has  been  held  by  men 
with  such  a  record.  Many  of  the  same  problems  confronted 
the  national,  as  the  state  and  city  governments.  The  war 
had  caused  a  sudden  expansion  of  business,  and  the  national 
istic  policy  of  Congress  had  rendered  it  permanent.  Never 
after  the  war  were  the  annual  expenses  of  the  government 
less  than  five  times  as  great  as  in  any  year  of  peace  before. 
Business  administration  became  an  increasingly  important 
function  of  the  government. 

This  increase  in  business  was  doubtless,  in  part,  re 
sponsible  for  the  governmental  demoralization  under  Grant. 
Already  a  remedy  had  been  proposed.  In  the  system  of  ap 
pointment  to  nonelective  offices,  on  the  basis  of  competitive 
examinations,  which  had  recently  been  introduced  in  Eng 
land,  Sumner  and  others  of  his  set  saw  the  annihilation  of 
the  spoils  system  and  the  possibility  of  equipping  the  govern 
ment  with  honest  and  efficient  officers.  It  was,  indeed,  true 
that  the  army  of  public  servants  had  become  so  vast  that 


CAMPAIGN  OF   1876  447 

personal  responsibility  was  not  a  sufficient  check  upon  forces 
of  favoritism.  In  Congress,  Mr.  Thomas  Jenckes  of  Rhode 
Island  became  the  leading  advocate  of  this  basic  reform,  and 
from  year  to  year  introduced  bills  to  put  it  into  practice. 
In  1871  an  appropriation  was  passed  and  a  Civil  Service 
Commission  was  established,  which  introduced  the  new  sys 
tem  into  a  few  offices.  Although  Congress  failed  to  continue 
its  support,  and  the  reform  leaders  and  President  Grant 
quarreled,  the  movement  went  on  under  the  energetic  direc 
tion  of  George  William  Curtis,  the  editor  of  Harper's  Weekly. 
In  New  York  and  other  places  civil  service  reform  associations 
were  formed.  As  was  true  of  the  antislavery  movement 
and  many  other  projects  for  betterment  pressed  forward  by 
that  generation,  the  crusade  was  given  a  moral  tone  and  was 
pressed  with  a  religious  conviction.  In  1872  it  played  a  part 
in  politics,  and  in  1876  it  became  a  real  factor.  While  the 
Democrats  failed  specifically  to  indorse  competitive  examina 
tions,  they  committed  themselves  to  remedy  the  evils  of  the 
civil  service,  and  it  was  believed  that  Mr.  Tilden  would  draw 
the  reformer  vote. 

The  leading  Republican  candidate  was  James  G.  Elaine,  Republican 
who  had  been  Speaker  of  the  House,  and  had  risen  steadily  Convention, 
in  popular  favor  because  of  his  sympathy  with  reform  and 
his  conciliatory  attitude  toward  the  South.  He  was  op 
posed  by  several  candidates  supported  by  the  President,  who 
desired  a  vindication  of  his  administration  by  the  choice  of 
some  close  friend.  Just  before  the  convention  Elaine  be 
came  involved  in  certain  charges  of  financial  dishonesty 
from  which  he  could  not  free  himself,  and  lost  the  support 
of  the  reformers  within  the  party.  To  regain  ground  he 
practically  reversed  his  attitude  toward  the  South,  and  made 
a  telling  and  adroit  appeal  to  the  war  passions  which  it  was 
still  easy  to  arouse.  After  a  contest,  the  convention  chose  a 
"dark  horse,"  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  who  as  governor  of 
Ohio  had  pleased  the  reform  element,  and  who  now  prevented 


44* 


RECONSTRUCTION  COMPLETED 


Election  of 
1876. 


Electoral 
Commission 


their  secession  from  the  party.  The  main  issue  that  filled 
the  campaign  speeches,  however,  was  that  renewed  by  Mr. 
Elaine,  and  the  Republican  orators  besought  the  voters  not 
to  turn  the  country  over  to  ex-Confederates  and  "Copper 
heads." 

By  this  time  white  rule  had  been  restored  in  all  the 
southern  states  except  South  Carolina,  Louisiana,  and  Florida, 
the  administration  not  having  ventured  to  carry  out  quite  so 
firm  a  restrictive  policy  after  the  election  of  the  Democratic 
House  of  Representatives  as  before.  Excepting  these  three, 
the  southern  states  were  carried  by  the  Democrats.  The 
border  states,  also,  for  the  first  time  since  1860,  were  solidly 
anti-Republican.  In  the  northern  states,  the  political  effects 
of  the  crisis  of  1873  had  become  modified,  and  the  results 
resembled  those  of  1868,  except  that  the  Democrats  offset 
the  loss  of  Oregon,  by  the  gain  of  Connecticut  and  Indiana. 
Tilden  received  a  popular  majority  of  over  two  hundred  fifty 
thousand,  but  the  Republicans  consoled  themselves  with  the 
thought  that  Hayes  carried  the  loyal  states  by  one  hundred 
thousand,  and  that  Tilden's  immense  majority  in  the  South 
Was  caused  by  the  illegal  suppression  of  the  negro  vote. 

From  South  Carolina,  Louisiana,  and  Florida,  there  were 
double  returns,  and  other  contests  arose  later.  If  every  con 
test  were  decided  in  his  favor,  Hayes  would  win  by  a  single 
electoral  vote.  The  Constitution  was  not  explicit  as  to 
whether  the  President  of  the  Senate,  at  the  time  a  Republican, 
or  the  houses  of  Congress,  of  which  one  was  Democratic,  had 
the  power  of  determining  the  validity  of  the  votes,  and  for 
a  time  it  seemed  probable  that  two  Presidents  would  be  de 
clared  elected  and  that  the  country  might  again  be  plunged 
into  civil  war.  With  most  commendable  self-control,  the 
party  leaders  agreed  to  leave  the  decision  to  a  commission 
appointed  in  such  a  manner  as  apparently  to  guarantee  im 
partiality.  The  Senate  appointed  from  its  body  three  Re 
publicans  and  two  Democrats,  the  House,  two  Republicans 


ELECTION  OF   1876  449 

and  three  Democrats,  and  five  members  of  the  Supreme  Court 
were  chosen,  of  whom  two  had  been  members  of  each  party, 
while  the  fifth  was  intended  to  be  David  Davis  of  Illinois, 
who  was  as  nearly  independent  as  it  was  possible  for  a  man 
in  public  life  to  be  at  the  time.  This  attempt  to  secure  a 
non-partisan  decision  was  lamentably  unsuccessful.  Mr. 
Davis  could  not  serve,  and  the  fifth  judge,  finally  appointed, 
was  a  Republican.  Every  vital  point  was  decided  by  a  vote 
of  eight  to  seven  in  favor  of  Hayes.  The  Commission  was 
hardly  judicial  in  its  attitude,  but  the  more  important  result 
of  obtaining  an  undisputed  succession,  however,  was  secured, 
and  Hayes  was  peacefully  inaugurated. 

The  character  of  this  contest  made  a  continuance  of  the  Restoration 
policy  of  " Thorough"  impossible,  and  Hayes  gladly  aban-  Juietothe 
doned  it,  calling  to  his  cabinet  Carl  Schurz,  one  of  the  Liberal  South- 
Republican   leaders.     Federal  troops  were  withdrawn  from 
the    South,    Democratic    governments    quietly    established 
themselves  in  the  three  disputed  states,  and  everywhere  con 
trol  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  naturally  dominant  whites. 
Unfortunately,   while   the   negro   ceased   to   participate   in 
politics,  the  negro  question  continued  to  be  a  determining 
factor.     The  war  had  brought  the  great  majority  of  southern 
whites  to  act  together.     Reconstruction  had  cemented  this  The  "Solid 
union  at  a  time  when  it  might  possibly  have  broken  up,  and  " 
the  unified  effort  to  regain  control  of  their  state  and  local 
governments  had  stamped  out  the  last  remaining  political 
difference.     It  became  the  cardinal  principle  of  public  life 
that  the  whites  must  preserve  their  supremacy  by  presenting 
a  solid  front  to  the  negro.     To  the  bonds  forged  by  a  common 
struggle  and  by  common  suffering  were  added  those  produced 
by  dread  of  a  common  danger.     The  instant  the  South  be 
came  again  self-governing  it  became  "solid."     Since  then  no 
Republican  electoral  vote  has  come  from  any  state  that  se 
ceded,  and  Republican  congressmen  only  from  those  upland 
districts  which  had  never  been  thoroughly  identified  witK  the 


45° 


RECONSTRUCTION   COMPLETED 


Exposition  of 
1876. 


Factional 
fights. 


Financial 
legislation. 


southern  interests.  With  this  solidity,  came  loss  of  national 
influence,  as  under  a  party  system  of  government  doubtful 
regions  have  the  greatest  weight. 

Nevertheless  the  restoration  of  home  rule  in  the  South 
meant  to  a  considerable  degree  the  restoration  of  national 
good  will,  and  national  feeling  was  undoubtedly  stimulated 
by  the  great  Centennial  Exposition  held  at  Philadelphia  in 
1876,  to  celebrate  one  hundred  years  of  independence. 
Planned  upon  a  scale  of  magnificence  before  unknown,  it 
exhibited  the  wonderful  material  development  of  the  country 
and  its  essential  economic  unity.  It  brought  the  leading 
spirits  of  all  sections  into  harmonious  cooperation,  and 
strengthened  national  pride  and  patriotism.  At  the  same 
time  the  hearty  assistance  of  foreign  nations  and  their  artis 
tic  exhibits  tended  to  break  down  that  spirit  of  isolation 
and  self-sufficiency  which  had  been  such  a  marked  feature  of 
American  thought  since  the  Napoleonic  wars. 

With  the  positive  part  of  his  program,  Hayes  was  less  suc 
cessful  than  with  the  negative.  He  was  sincerely  interested 
in  civil  service  reform  and  earnestly  endeavored  to  secure  its 
extension,  but  he  lacked  the  force  to  secure  adequate  support 
for  his  proposals.  The  Democrats  controlled  the  House,  and 
the  Republicans  were  divided  between  the  "Half-Breeds," 
who  generally  supported  the  President,  and  the  "Stalwarts," 
led  by  Senator  Conkling  of  New  York,  who  violently  attacked 
what  he  denominated  the  "Snivel  service  administration 
of  Totherfraud  Hayes." 

The  main  object  of  political  interest,  however,  had  come 
to  be  the  currency  question.  The  crisis  of  1873  had  naturally 
caused  serious  thinking  upon  that  subject,  and  the  result  was 
a  conflict  as  to  remedies.  The  majority  of  the  Republicans 
believed  that  one  serious  cause  of  the  disaster  had  been  the 
fluctuating  value  of  the  currency,  due  to  the  failure  to  re 
deem  greenbacks  in  coin.  Still  the  party  was  divided,  and 
in  1873  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  actually  issued 


FINANCIAL  LEGISLATION  45 1 

$26,000,000  additional  greenbacks,  to  tide  over  the  period  of 
greatest  stringency.  A  compromise  measure,  largely  the 
work  of  Senator  John  Sherman  of  Ohio,  was  finally  passed  on 
January  14,  1875,  which  provided  for  the  resumption  of  specie 
payments  on  January  i,  1879. 

To  many,  particularly  in  those  rural  regions  where  the 
"Ohio  Idea"  had  been  popular, -the  case  appeared  very  differ 
ent.  The  tremendous  agricultural  expansion  of  this  period 
was  accompanied  to  an  unusual  extent  by  the  creation  of 
mortgage  indebtedness.  Capital  was  more  ductile  than  it 
had  been  before.  In  the  newer  regions  farmers  could  borrow 
what  they  needed  to  establish  themselves,  and  in  the  older 
districts  they  went  into  debt  to  purchase  the  farm  machinery 
that  was  becoming  a  necessity.  Many  of  these  mortgages 
had  been  contracted  when  paper  money  was  at  a  heavy  t 
discount,  and  its  gradual  rise  in  value  had  meant  an  increase 
in  the  burden.  As  before  the  Revolution,  at  the  time  of  the 
Shays's  Rebellion,  and  under  the  Jackson  regime,  the  more 
recently  developed  portions  of  the  country  demanded  that 
the  government  use  its  power  to  cheapen  capital.  They 
believed  that  a  generous  issue  of  paper  money  would  have 
prevented  all  trouble  in  1873,  and  would  now  hasten  recovery, 

which  was  coming  but  slowly.     The  strength  of  this  element   The"Green- 

..          ,  back"  move- 

increased,  and  in  1876  a  national  party  was  formed,  popu-   ment. 

larly  known  as  "  Greenback,"  which  nominated  Peter  Cooper 
for  the  presidency.  The  ideal  of  this  party  was  a  money 
"  manufactured  out  of  material  costing  substantially  nothing, 
redeemable  in  nothing  else,  inasmuch  as  the  redemption  of 
money  is  its  destruction,  nonexportable,  deriving  its  exist 
ence  from  the  will  of  the  government,  authenticated  by 
the  official  stamp,  and  regulated  as  to  its  value  by  limiting 
its  quantity."  This  party  did  not  play  a  conspicuous  part 
in  the  election  of  1876,  but  in  1878,  an  "off  year,"  when  party 
allegiance  did  not  bind  so  closely,  it  cast  over  a  million  votes, 
elected  many  congressmen,  and  pledged  others  to  support 


452 


RECONSTRUCTION  COMPLETED 


Restoration 
of  specie 
payments. 


Sources. 


Historical 
accounts. 


Grant's  sec 
ond  adminis 
tration. 


Administra 
tion  of 
Hayes. 


Reform. 


its  views.  The  result  was  that  on  May  31,  1878,  Congress 
ordered  that  none  of  the  greenbacks  which  should  be  redeemed 
be  destroyed,  but  that  they  be  returned  to  circulation. 

In  spite  of  this  agitation,  John  Sherman,  whom  Hayes 
had  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  very  successfully 
prepared  the  government  for  the  resumption  of  specie 
payments.  In  fact,  a  short  time  before  the  first  of  January, 
1879,  the  premium  on  gold  disappeared,  and  there  was  no 
longer  any  temptation  to  exchange  paper  for  it.  With  this 
event,  the  financial  disturbances  directly  caused  by  the  Civil 
War  may  be  considered  to  have  ended,  but  the  fact  that  the 
currency,  and  to  a  certain  extent  banking,  had  become 
national  rather  than  state  problems  remained. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

On  the  reform  movements :  Curtis,  G.  W.,  Orations  and  Ad 
dresses,  I,  1-36;  261-286;  313-366;  II,  1-86.  Tilden,  S.  J., 
Writings  and  Speeches,  I,  515-606.  U.  S.  Doc.,  Fifteenth  Annual 
Report  of  U.  S.  Civil  Service  Commission. 

Bigelow,  J.,  Tilden,  I,  ch.  IX ;  II,  chs.  I-III.  Crawford,  J.  B., 
The  Credit  MoUlier.  Harding,  S.  B.,  Party  Struggles  in  Missouri 
during  the  Civil  War  (Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,  Report,  1900,  87-103). 
Merriam,  G.  S.,  The  Negro  and  the  Nation,  306-361.  Rhodes, 
United  States,  VII,  175-226.  Story,  M.,  Sumner,  chs.  XXIII, 
XXIV.  Woodburn,  Party  Politics  in  Indiana  during  the  Civil  War 
(Am.  Hist.  Assoc.,  Report,  1902,  223-251). 

Elaine,  J.  G.,  Twenty  Years  in  Congress,  II,  317-333,  ch. 
XXIV.  Boutwell,  G.  S.,  Reminiscences  of  Sixty  Years,  II,  chs. 
XXIII,  XXIV,  XXVI.  Burton,  Slierman.  Dewey,  D.  R.,  Fi 
nancial  History,  chs.  XIII-XV.  Dunning,  W.  A.,  Reconstruction, 
chs.  XIX-XXI.  Hart,  A.  B.,  Chase,  chs.  IX,  XI,  XV.  Haworth, 
P.  L. ,  The  Hayes- Tilden  Disputed  Election  of  1876.  McCulloch,  H. , 
Men  and  Measures  of  Half  a  Century,  ch.  XVIII.  Rhodes,  J.  F., 
Historical  Essays,  243-264. 

Adams,  C.  F.  and  H.,  Chapters  in  Erie,  I-III.  Cary,  E., 
G.  W.  Curtis,  chs.  XV-XVII,  XX,  XXII,  XXIII.  Bigelow,  Tilden, 
I,  ch.  VIII.  Fish,  Civil  Service  and  the  Patronage,  ch.  X. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  453 

Ostrogorski,  Democracy  and  the  Organization  of  Political  Parties, 
II,  539-604.  Woodburn,  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems  in 
the  United  States,  chs.  XIV-XXL 

On  railroads :  Haney,  L.  H.,  Congressional  History  of  Rail-  Economic 
roads,  I,  234-264.     Paxson,  F.  L.,  Last  American  Frontier,  chs.   <iuestioris- 
XI-XIII.     On  Indians :  Paxson,  F.  L.,  chs.  II,  VIII,  XIV-XVIII. 
On  panic  of  1873 :  Sprague,  O.  W.  M.,  History  of  Crises  under  the 
National  Banking  System.     On  tariff :  Stanwood,  E.,  Tariff  Con 
troversies,  II,  chs.  XIV  and  XV.     Taussig,  F.  W.,  Tariff,  171-229. 

Mark  Twain  and  Charles  Dudley  Warner,  The  Gilded  Age. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
THE  CURRENCY  AND  THE  TARIFF,   1880  TO   1900 

Period  of  THE  period  of  the  eighties  and  nineties  was  in  many  re- 

transitkm.  Spects  one  of  transition.  The  war  issues  had  for  the  most 
part  been  solved,  but  the  memory  of  them  continued  to  be 
an  important  factor  in  politics.  Certain  results  of  the  war, 
such  as  the  permanence  of  the  Union  and  the  increased 
exercise  of  national  functions,  were  well  established.  This 
very  fact  broadened  the  scope  of  national  politics,  for  the 
currency  problem  which  for  twenty-five  years  before  the  war 
had  been  a  state  affair  now  became  exclusively  national. 
The  war  legislation,  moreover,  still  gave  shape  to  discussion 
of  the  tariff,  which  took  the  form  of  defense  of  the  policy  then 
adopted  or  attack  upon  it.  In  the  meantime  new  conditions 
were  evolving,  and  new  issues  forcing  themselves  upon 
public  attention.  In  general  these  issues  were  of  two  kinds. 
On  the  one  side  government  action  was  demanded  upon  many 
subjects;  on  the  other  there  was  an  attempt  to  improve  the 
machinery  of  the  government.  This  period  of  transition 
differed  from  that  between  1815  and  1828  in  being  marked, 
not  by  the  disorganization  of  parties,  but  by  their  stability 
and  effectiveness  of  organization.  Party  allegiance  passed 
from  father  to  son,  and  independent  voting  was  generally  a 
negligible  factor  except  in  the  trans-Mississippi  district, 
where  the  currency  moved  the  farmer,  and  the  Chinese 
question  the  Californian,  to  desert  his  party  standard.  The 
usual  tendency  of  national  parties  to  compromise  by  adopt 
ing  a  policy  of  inaction,  left  the  initiative  on  many  subjects 
to  the  states.  The  legislative  history  of  most  movements 
begins  with  the  states,  then  becomes  national,  and  then  goes 

454 


FREE   COINAGE  OF  SILVER  455 

back  to  those  states  which  were  slow  in  acting.  Another 
noticeable  feature  of  the  period  from  1875  to  1898  is  that 
only  twice,  1889  to  1891  and  1893  to  1895,  did  a  political 
party  control  both  houses  of  Congress  and  the  presidency. 
National  legislation  was,  therefore,  largely  of  a  non-partisan 
character.  In  this  chapter,  the  course  of  national  party 
politics  will  be  followed  with  such  notice  of  changing  condi 
tions  as  seems  necessary  to  explain  them.  Later,  the  general 
unfolding  of  new  factors  in  the  national  development  will  be 
traced. 

With  the  resumption  of  specie  payments  in  1879  ended  Free  coinage 
all  important  discussion  of  fiat  money,  but  not  the  agitation  s"ver- 
for  other  kinds  of  cheap  circulating  mediums.  This  now 
took  the  form  of  a  demand  for  the  free  and  unrestricted 
coinage  of  silver.  In  1873  the  coinage  of  silver  dollars 
had  ceased.  In  1878  the  Greenback  element  forced  a 
compromise  measure,  known  as  the  Bland  act,  through 
Congress,  by  which  silver  was  again  made  legal  tender,  and 
the  treasury  department  was  instructed  to  purchase  and 
coin  not  less  than  $2,000,000  and  not  more  than  $4,000,000 
worth  of  silver  bullion  per  month.  In  twelve  years  nearly 
370,000,000  silver  dollars  were  coined,  which  the  govern 
ment  credit  kept  in  circulation  at  a  rate  considerably  in 
excess  of  the  commercial  value  of  the  silver  they  contained. 
This,  however,  was  far  from  answering  the  demand,  and 
endeavor  was  persistent  to  secure  the  unlimited  coinage  of 
all  silver  offered  the  government. 

This  demand  was  urged  by  a  strong  minority  in  both  silver  in 
parties,  which  the  party  managers  generally  endeavored  to 
quiet  by  making  some  compromise.  The  Democrats  in 
1868  nominated  a  strong  money  candidate  and  adopted  a 
soft  money  platform.  The  Republicans  in  1884  declared  in 
favor  of  bimetallism  by  international  agreement.  When 
such  an  arrangement  was  not  forthcoming,  the  advocates 
of  free  silver  were  able  to  form  an  independent  party  of  no 


456      THE  CURRENCY  AND  THE  TARIFF 

inconsiderable  proportions.  In  1880  they  cast  over  three 
hundred  thousand  votes  for  a  Greenback  candidate; 
in  1892,  over  one  million  for  the  same  candidate,  James  B. 
Weaver,  running  on  the  Populist  ticket. 

The  granger  While  the  expansion  of  the  currency  was  the  chief  political 

'n  '  object  of  this  element,  other  issues  tended  to  increase  its 
solidarity.  The  problem  of  transportation  had,  in  the  earlier 
period,  been  one  of  creating  the  means  of  intercourse;  with 
the  phenomenal  strides  in  railroad  construction  during  the 
fifties  and  sixties,  attention  came  to  be  centered  upon  the 
question  of  rates.  American  foodstuffs  in  the  European 
market  came  increasingly  into  competition  with  those  from  all 
parts  of  the  world,  and  transportation  rates  became  of  vital 
importance.  In  1865  it  was  calculated  that  the  1,062,611 
bushels  of  wheat  raised  in  Dane  county,  Wisconsin,  were 
worth  $1,188,163  a^  home,  the  railroad  charge  to  the  lake 
shore  would  bring  the  value  to  $2,125,222,  and  the  water 
carriage  to  New  York,  to  $2,444,005.  The  farmers'  com 
plaints  at  what  they  considered  exorbitant  charges  were 
made  effective  by  the  rise  of  rural  organizations.  In  1867 
the  Patrons  of  Husbandry  were  organized.  The  society  was 
secret,  admitting  both  men  and  women.  Its  object  was  the 
general  improvement  of  farming  conditions,  and  its  granges 
or  local  branches  combined  social  entertainment  with  educa 
tion  and  cooperative  buying.  Quickly  attaining  a  large 
membership,  the  granges  soon  began  to  influence  politics.  In 
the  early  seventies  the  organized  farmer  became  a  factor  to 
reckon  with  in  Illinois,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  Kansas,  and  Wis 
consin.  In  Wisconsin  the  Grangers  secured  control  in 
1874  and  passed  laws  fixing  maximum  railroad  rates.  This 
legislation  was  repealed  subsequently,  but  is  important  be 
cause  it  came  before  the  courts  for  review.  Chief  Justice  Ryan 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Wisconsin  found  it  constitutional 
in  a  very  able  decision,  and  this  position  was  confirmed  by 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  the  Granger  Cases 


RAILROAD   REGULATION  457 

in  1877.  In  these  decisions  there  was  set  forth  for  the  first 
time  clearly  the  legal  doctrine  that  companies  running  rail 
roads  and  performing  certain  other  similar  functions  were 
public  service  corporations,  and  as  such,  were  under  the  con 
trol  of  the  state  in  which  they  operated. 

The  experience  of  the  later  seventies  and  eighties  in-  Railroad 
creased  the  feeling  that  railroads  should  be  regulated,  but  it  r 
came  to  be  realized  that  not  rates  alone  were  in  question.  The 
management  of  many  railroads  was  both  inefficient  and 
corrupt.  Fortunes  were  made  rather  by  contracts  for  the 
construction  of  the  roads  and  their  supply  than  by  running 
them.  Their  profits  were  drawn  away  by  extravagant  pay 
ments  to  terminal  companies  formed  by  the  railroad  officials. 
The  roads  were  "watered"  by  issuing  stock  far  in  excess  of  the 
cost.  It  was  the  attempt  to  pay  dividends  on  issues  thus 
foolishly  and  corruptly  spent  or  not  spent  at  all  which  in 
many  instances  caused  the  companies  to  desire  high  rates. 
The  rates  were  on  a  financial  rather  than  an  economic  basis, 
and  in  many  instances  they  were  not  charged  equally  to  all 
the  customers  of  the  road.  Roads  by  discriminating  in  their 
rates  could  and  frequently  did  ruin  individuals  and  even 
towns.  Where  two  or  more  roads  served  the  same  territory, 
rates  were  determined  not  by  competition  but  by  pools  or 
joint  agreements.  Roads  or  steamship  companies  refusing 
to  agree  were  bought  up  or  forced  into  submission  by  cut 
ting  off  their  through  traffic.  The  question  was  one  National 
of  great  complexity,  and  it  was  one  which  was  national 
in  character  and  required  national  legislation.  In  1866  tation. 
and  again  in  1868  committee  reports  were  submitted 
to  Congress  which  asserted  the  authority  of  that  body 
to  legislate  on  the  subject.  In  1874  a  report  was  made  to 
the  House  of  Representatives:  "Upon  the  theory  that,  by 
reason  of  stock  inflation,  extravagance,  and  dishonesty  in 
construction  and  management,  and  combinations  among 
existing  companies,  the  present  railroad  service  of  the  coun- 


458 


THE  CURRENCY  AND  THE  TARIFF 


Concentra 
tion  of 
population 
and  the 
labor  move 
ment. 


Labor 
unions. 


try  imposes  unnecessary  burdens  upon  its  commerce." 
This  report  advised  the  building  of  one  or  more  roads  by  the 
government  to  regulate  the  situation  by  competition.  Eco 
nomic  causes  produced  a  rapid  lowering  of  rates,  but  a  report 
of  1886  asserted  that  this  "recognized  benefit  has  been  ob 
tained  at  the  cost  of  the  most  unwarranted  discriminations," 
and  demand  arose  for  regulations  of  increasing  scope. 

Almost  at  the  same  time  that  the  farming  interests 
were  becoming  organized,  labor  was  making  its  first  important 
efforts  in  the  same  direction.  By  the  close  of  the  Hayes  ad 
ministration,  manufacturing  had  recovered  from  the  crisis 
of  1873,  and  began  a  new  era  of  marvelous  expansion.  Steam 
was  rapidly  displacing  water  power,  bringing  with  it  concen 
tration  at  points  to  which  coal  could  easily  be  brought,  as 
on  the  seacoast  and  at  railroad  centers.  Particularly  in 
New  England  the  village  factories  failed  to  recover  from  the 
shock  of  1873,  and  the  population  of  many  towns  sank  far 
below  what  it  had  been  a  hundred  years  before,  while  cities 
grew  like  magic.  The  conditions  of  employment  changed. 
The  old  individual  relation,  where  employer  and  employee 
were  united  by  a  lifetime  of  associations,  was  superseded  by 
one  more  purely  economic,  particularly  as  the  native  Ameri 
cans  tended  to  leave  the  factories  to  French  Canadian,  Irish, 
and  other  immigrants.  Corporations,  often  controlling  many 
factories,  began  generally  to  take  the  place  of  individual 
owners.  Laborers  changed  easily  from  one  factory  to 
another,  and  from  place  to  place,  while  manufacturers 
settled  disputes  by  dismissing  their  workmen  and  hiring 
others,  sometimes  even  importing  them  from  foreign 
countries.  Both  capital  and  labor  felt  the  necessity  of  or 
ganization.  Labor  unions  had  been  formed  in  the  flush 
times  before  1837,  they  had  been  formed  again  and  more 
extensively  during  the  war,  when  by  strikes  and  other 
methods  they  had  forced  up  wages  into  some  relation  with  the 
increased  prices.  In  1869  the  Noble  Order  of  Knights  of 


THE  LABOR  QUESTION;  459 

Labor  was  founded,  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  securing  legis 
lation  favorable  to  labor  of  all  classes,  and  in  1881  the  Ameri 
can  Federation  of  Labor  united  many  of  the  unions,  which 
had  been  formed  by  the  workmen  of  particular  trades,  into  a 
national  body.  In  1872  and  in  1888  some  of  the  labor  leaders 
ran  candidates  for  the  presidency,  and  in  1892,  led  by  the 
superficial  similarity  of  their  demands  to  those  of  the  agri 
culturists,  they  united  with  them  in  the  "People's  "  party. 
The  majority  of  the  laborers,  however,  clung  to  the  two 
leading  parties,  within  which  they  were  able  to  exert  great 
power.  In  this  way  they  secured  much  favorable  legislation. 
State  governments  regulated  the  hours  and  conditions  of 
labor,  and  protected  women  and  children.  The  national 
government  forbade  the  importation  of  Chinese  laborers 
in  1882,  and  in  1888  that  of  any  labor  under  contract.  It 
is,  in  fact,  true  that  during  this  period  those  movements 
obtained  the  quickest  and  surest  success  whose  leaders 
worked  within  the  old  party  organizations,  rather  than 
formed  independent  parties. 

Among  the  manufacturers  during  the  war  time,  associa-  concentra-  ; 
tions  were  formed  to  combat  the  unions.  During  the  seven- 
ties  a  much  more  important  consolidation  was  beginning. 
The  thoroughgoing  character  of  American  democracy,  which 
gave  such  opportunity  to  every  man,  gave  it  as  well  to  every 
dollar.  Restrictions  upon  the  use  of  wealth  were  few,  and 
its  accumulation,  not  only  in  the  community,  but  partic 
ularly  in  the  hands  of  individuals,  was  unusually  rapid. 
This  wealth,  in  the  hands  of  the  most  active  and  enterprising 
men  of  the  time,  did  not  become,  as  in  Europe,  a  conserva 
tive  factor,  but  rather  intensified  the  speculative  attempts 
to  push  on  the  development  of  the  country.  Its  hold 
ers  saw  that  the  greatest  opportunities  now  lay  rather  in 
organization  than  in  direct  exploitation.  The  vast  unities 
of  the  country,  physiographical,  and  in  the  customs  and 
needs  of  the  inhabitants,  afforded  unlimited  rewards  to  those 


460  THE   CURRENCY  AND   THE  TARIFF 

who  sought  a  host  of  customers  and  but  a  small  profit  on 
each  sale.  To  take  advantage  of  this  situation  many  inde 
pendent  establishments  were  united  under  one  management, 
either  by  agreement  or  by  outright  purchase.  In  either  case 
the  resulting  organization  came  to  be  known  as  a  trust. 
The  purposes  of  the  trust  were  to  avoid  the  expenses  of 
many  separate  managements  and  to  abolish  competition. 
Once  established,  each  trust  sought  to  agree  with,  or  to 
drive  out,  others  engaged  in  its  particular  business.  Ulti 
mately  the  control  of  prices  would  be  in  its  hands.  The 
trusts  were  most  numerous  in  those  branches  of  industry 
which  controlled  some  one  great  national  source  of  supply 
or  some  universal  need.  Earliest  among  them  was  the 
Standard  Oil  Company,  formed  by  John  D.  Rockefeller. 
There  quickly  followed  trusts  to  control  sugar,  whisky, 
tobacco,  salt,  and  many  other  things,  though  they  were 
seldom  to  be  found  in  those  industries  depending  upon  a  high 
degree  of  mechanical  skill.  During  the  same  period  railroad 
ownership  tended  to  consolidate,  the  great  Vanderbilt  system 
being  formed  between  New  York  and  Chicago,  and  the  Gould 
system  farther  west.  The  men  who  formed  these  combina 
tions  were  primarily  organizers  and  were  among  the  ablest 
of  the  time. 

Business  and  The  man  who  would  rise  out  of  the  ordinary  in  the  thirties 
went  into  politics;  in  the  seventies  and  eighties  such  men 
went  into  business.  Equality  of  opportunity  gave  unlimited 
possibilities  to  the  strongest,  and  the  "Captains  of  Industry" 
showed  the  same  skill  in  business  at  this  time  that  the  great 
national  leaders  had  earlier  shown  in  political  organization. 
To  the  natural  economies  which  organization  brought  about, 
many  of  the  leaders  in  such  enterprises  sought  to  add  the 
profit  which  might  come  from  the  overthrow  of  competition, 
from  the  monopoly  of  basic  natural  resources,  and  from 
the  special  favors  which,  as  large  customers  or  as  part 
owners,  they  might  obtain  from  railroads  and  other  public 


ELECTION  OF  GARFIELD  461 

service  corporations.  To  men  doing  business  on  such  a 
large  scale  the  effect  of  public  legislation  on  their  private 
affairs  was  more  evident  than  to  the  average  citizen,  and  they 
were  active  in  shaping  such  legislation.  All  their  accu 
mulated  capital  was  drawn  into  political  activity,  both  in 
order  to  obtain  favorable  legislation  and  for  protection 
against  the  attacks  of  the  agricultural  and  labor  interests. 
The  party  managers  had  previously  maintained  themselves 
chiefly  on  the  forced  assessments  of  officeholders,  and  when 
after  1883  that  source  of  income  was  reduced  by  the  progress 
of  civil  service  reform,  they  began  to  rely  on  the  contributions 
of  capitalists.  Party  leaders  had  to  steer  their  course  nar 
rowly  when  the  threats  of  labor  leaders  were  on  one  side  and 
the  lures  of  capital  on  the  other,  and  joyfully  sought  to  enact 
any  legislation  upon  which  the  two  united. 

The  campaign  of  1880  was  one  of  the  least  eventful  in  Election  of 
American  history.  The  most  exciting  feature  was  the  Garfield- 
contest  for  the  Republican  nomination.  President  Hayes 
was  not  a  candidate,  but  ex-President  Grant  was  eager  for 
a  third  term,  and  was  vigorously  supported  by  the  Stalwarts 
under  Senator  Conkling.  His  leading  opponent  was  James 
G.  Elaine,  and  the  conflict  was  so  bitter  that,  again,  as  in 
1876,  a  dark  horse  was  selected  —  James  A.  Garfield  of  Ohio, 
a  friend  of  Elaine,  and  a  man  who  stood  for  civil  service 
reform.  The  Democrats  chose  General  Winfield  S.  Hancock, 
a  prominent  Civil  War  veteran.  The  subsidence  of  southern 
issues  and  the  failure  of  both  parties  to  take  a  sharply  defined 
position  on  the  rising  economic  problems,  made  the  campaign 
largely  a  struggle  between  the  rival  party  organizations. 
The  growing  power  of  organized  labor  was  shown  by  the  fact 
that  California  and  Nevada,  resenting  the  failure  of  the 
Republican  administration  to  prevent  the  immigration  of 
Chinese  laborers,  changed  from  the  Republican  to  the 
Democratic  column.  The  Republicans,  however,  gained  ID 
the  East,  and  Garfield  was  elected. 


462 


THE   CURRENCY  AND   THE  TARIFF 


Elaine's 
foreign 
policy.  ] 


Succession 
of  Arthur. 


The 

triumph  of 
civil  service 
reform. 


Garfield  appointed  Elaine  his  Secretary  of  State,  and  the 
latter  embarked  upon  a  comprehensive  foreign  policy.  He 
aimed  to  revive  and  extend  the  Pan-American  policy  of  Clay 
and  Adams.  He  endeavored  to  make  the  United  States 
the  arbiter  of  the  disputes  of  Latin  America,  and  he  resented 
vigorously  the  interference  of  European  countries  in  any 
matters  concerning  either  American  continent,  and  partic 
ularly  with  regard  to  the  building  of  an  interoceanic  canal, 
which  was  at  this  time  being  actively  pushed  by  a  French 
company  headed  by  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps,  the  promoter  of 
the  Suez  Canal.  Elaine  was  one  of  the  few  leaders  of  the 
time  who  conceived  anything  like  a  comprehensive  foreign 
policy.  He  lacked,  however,  the  necessary  training,  and  the 
political  appointees  selected  to  carry  out  his  schemes  were 
most  incompetent.  Popular  interest,  moreover,  did  not 
support  him,  for  the  Americans  of  the  time  cared  almost 
nothing  for  foreign  affairs. 

In  September,  1881,  President  Garfield  died,  having 
been  shot  by  a  disappointed  officeseeker.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Chester  A.  Arthur,  a  friend  of  Conkling,  who  had  been 
nominated  to  the  vice  presidency  with  the  hope  of  conciliat 
ing  the  Stalwarts.  President  Arthur  had  the  reputation 
of  being  decidedly  a  politician  rather  than  a  statesman. 
The  highest  position  he  had  previously  held  had  been  that  of 
Collector  of  Customs  at  New  York.  He  proved  to  be  an 
excellent  administrator  and  filled  his  unexpected  position 
with  dignity  and  poise.  Mr.  Elaine,  however,  did  not  desire 
to  serve  under  him  and  resigned.  The  President  thereupon 
appointed,  as  Secretary  of  State,  Frederick  T.  Frelinghuysen 
of  New  Jersey,  who  reversed  Mr.  Elaine's  foreign  policy  in 
most  particulars. 

Of  much  greater  importance  than  the  change  in  foreign 
policy  was  the  impetus  that  the  assassination  of  Garfield 
gave  to  the  movement  for  civil  service  reform.  Garfield 
stood  for  reform  ;  he  engaged  in  a  severe  factional  fight 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1884  463 

with  Conkling  and  Platt,  the  New  York  senators,  on  the 
plea  of  establishing  better  conditions  in  New  York,  and  was 
regarded  as  a  martyr  to  the  cause.  The  next  congressional 
election  showed  a  determined  public  sentiment  behind  the 
movement,  and  in  1883  Congress  passed  the  Pendleton  Bill. 
This  provided  for  a  Civil  Service  Commission  which  was  to 
arrange  for  the  classification  of  the  government  employees, 
and  the  appointment  of  large  numbers  of  them  on  the  basis 
of  competitive  examination.  The  President  was  given  the 
power  to  extend  these  rules  over  other  members  of  the  civil 
service  at  his  discretion.  The  Commission  also  had  large 
power  over  the  civil  service,  being  particularly  directed  to 
prevent  the  assessment  of  officeholders  for  political  purposes. 

The  next  campaign  resulted  in  a  considerable  realign-  "Mugwump" 
ment  of  parties.  The  Republicans  turned  to  the  leadership 
of  Mr.  Elaine.  They  received  credit  for  the  Chinese  Exclu 
sion  Act  so  strongly  demanded  by  the  labor  interests  of  the 
Pacific  coast,  and  as  a  result  they  recovered  California  and 
Nevada.  Their  platform  declared  in  favor  of  international 
bimetallism,  and  consequently  no  soft  money  third  party 
played  a  prominent  role  in  the  election.  The  Republican 
party  itself,  however,  divided  on  the  issue  of  reform.  A 
group  of  able  men,  many  of  them  young,  opposed  Mr.  Elaine. 
He  had  never  satisfactorily  cleared  himself  of  the  charges 
brought  against  him  in  1876,  and  was  regarded  as  "jingoistic" 
in  foreign  policy  and  machine-ridden  in  politics.  In  the 
convention  they  were  led  by  George  William  Curtis  and 
prominent  among  them  was  Theodore  Roosevelt,  a  young 
member  of  the  New  York  legislature.  When  Elaine  was 
chosen,  Curtis  and  many  others  went  over  to  the  Democrats, 
some  temporarily  and  some  permanently.  These  men  were 
known  as  "Mugwumps."  Mr.  Roosevelt,  however,  stayed 
with  the  Republican  party. 

The  Democrats  adopted  a  platform  resembling  that  of  Election  of 
1876,   boldly   pronouncing    in    favor   of    "honest   money,  cleveland- 


464  THE  CURRENCY  AND   THE  TARIFF 

the  gold  and  silver  coinage  of  the  Constitution,  and  a  cir 
culating  medium  convertible  into  such  money  without  loss." 
Their  tariff  plank  was  framed  on  the  theory  that  the  tariff 
should  offset  differences  in  the  cost  of  production  in  this  and 
other  countries  due  to  higher  wages  here.  Although  this  is 
practically  the  Republican  position  at  the  present  day,  it 
was  not  regarded  as  so  satisfactory  to  the  protectionists  in 
1884  as  the  Republican  platform,  and  Pennsylvania,  the 
great  protectionist  state,  swung  from  the  doubtful  to  the 
Republican  column  for  many  years  to  come.  To  offset  this 
loss  and  losses  that  might  occur  in  the  West  because'  of  their 
position  on  the  currency,  the  Democrats  declared  emphati 
cally  for  administrative  reform,  and  nominated  Grover 
Cleveland,  who  as  mayor  of  Buffalo  and  governor  of  New 
York  had  made  an  admirable  record  as  a  reformer.  The 
election  was  very  close,  depending  upon  the  vote  of  New 
York  state.  The  determining  number  of  votes  was  so  small, 
any  one  of  a  number  of  accidents  may  have  been  responsible 
for  the  result.  It  is  claimed,  for  instance,  that  Mr.  Elaine 
was  defeated  by  an  indiscreet  clergyman  friendly  to  him  who 
described  him  as  fighting  "Rum,  Romanism,  and  Rebellion." 
Cleveland  carried  the  state  by  1149  plurality  in  a  total  vote 
of  nearly  one  million  two  hundred  thousand,  and  was  elected, 
Cleveland's  Cleveland  was  a  man  of  strong  character  and  individuality. 

He  formed  a  cabinet  of  men  for  the  most  part  not  well  known 
in  public  life,  but  who  proved  to  be  of  ability  and  who  suc 
cessfully  cooperated  to  make  the  administration  a  success. 
Most  important  among  them  were  Thomas  F.  Bayard  of 
Delaware,  Secretary  of  State,  William  F.  Vilas  of  Wisconsin, 
Postmaster- General,  and  later  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and 
William  C.  Whitney  of  New  York,  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
Cleveland  made  more  extensive  use  of  the  veto  than  any 
other  President.  He  vetoed  a  river  and  harbor  bill,  a  great 
variety  of  measures  of  a  special,  local,  or  private  character, 
and  almost  three  hundred  and  fifty  private  pension  bills. 


POLITICAL  REFORM  465 

In  thus  giving  a  check  to  the  rather  indiscriminate  voting 
of  public  money  as  the  result  of  good  nature  or  logrolling, 
he  contributed  a  distinct  public  service,  and  public  opinion 
justified  his  method,  in  spite  of  a  general  disapproval  of 
executive  interference  with  legislation. 

The  civil  service  demanded  all  his  strength  of  character.  Cleveland 
As  first  Democratic  President  since  1861  he  found  himself  service6  a 
surrounded  by  subordinate  officials  hostile  almost  to  a  man ; 
at  the  same  time  he  was  subject  to  terrific  pressure  from 
Democratic  politicians  hungry  for  office  after  so  many  lean 
years.  It  was  impossible  not  to  make  removals,  and  he 
made  many,  but  he  did  not  lose  sight  of  reform.  He  sup 
ported  the  Civil  Service  Commission  in  its  recommendations, 
extended  the  rules  over  many  branches  of  the  service  pre 
viously  left  open  to  political  appointment,  and  took  vigorous 
measures  to  enforce  the  laws  against  assessments.  His 
administration,  in  fact,  marks  the  real  triumph  of  that 
reform. 

The  adoption  of  civil  service  reform  by  the  national  Growth  of 
government  was  followed  by  favorable  legislation  in  many  movement 
states  and  cities.  Such  laws,  however,  depend  for  their 
efficiency  upon  the  support  of  responsible  public  officials,  for  ness, 
many  methods  of  evading  their  requirements  exist.  In  1881 
a  National  Civil  Service  Reform  Association  was  organized 
in  New  York  city,  whose  object  was  to  watch  and  make  public 
all  violations  and  to  urge  the  extension  of  the  system.  A 
public  sentiment  favorable  to  the  movement  has  been  built 
up,  and  on  the  whole  the  vigor  of  the  law  has  been  main 
tained  and  constant  progress  toward  the  purification  of 
public  service,  national,  state,  and  municipal,  has  been  made. 
During  this  same  period  a  system  of  secret  voting,  known  as 
the  "Australian  ballot,"  was  widely  adopted  by  the  various 
states,  with  the  result  of  diminishing  the  amount  of  bribery 
and  intimidation  at  the  polls.  It  remained  true,  how 
ever,  that  the  selection  of  the  holders  of  elective  offices 


466  THE  CURRENCY  AND  THE  TARIFF 

was  practically  made  by  the  two  great  party  organiza 
tions.  The  voter  at  the  polls  could  merely  choose  be 
tween  two  candidates.  These  party  candidates  were  se 
lected  by  organizations  which  were  entirely  unrecognized 
and  unregulated  by  the  law,  and  were  in  fact  nearly 
always  the  choice  of  the  party  managers.  Party  caucuses 
were  very  often  held  under  circumstances  which  discouraged 
the  attendance  of  the  ordinary  citizens,  and  were  often  so 
managed  as  to  render  such  citizens  powerless  if  they  came. 
Many  began  to  urge  that  the  parties  had  become  actually 
such  an  important  part  of  the  machinery  of  government  that 
their  organization  should  be  brought  under  government 
control,  that  it  was  dangerous  to  leave  such  powerful  bodies, 
actually  controlling  the  adoption  of  public  policies  and  the 
selection  of  the  most  important  officials,  entirely  extra-legal. 
A  movement  was  therefore  started  to  bring  the  party  cau 
cuses  or  primaries  under  legal  control.  Such  laws  were 
passed  in  Massachusetts  and  some  other  states,  but  little 
progress  was  made  during  this  period.  Nevertheless,  it 
may  be  said  that,  on  the  whole,  the  movement  for  civic 
betterment,  whose  rise  was  noted  during  Grant's  admin 
istration,  became  an  established  factor  under  Cleveland, 
and  has  since  that  time  accomplished  much  in  the  purifica 
tion  of  politics  and  in  making  public  opinion  sensitive  to 
violations  of  political  decency.  In  municipal  politics  many 
reform  campaigns  have  been  fought  and  many  victories 
won.  Although  distinctly  reform  administrations  have 
seldom  been  long  maintained,  each  reform  victory  has  accom 
plished  some  definite  results,  and  the  subsequent  relapse  has 
never  meant  a  return  to  conditions  quite  as  bad  as  pre 
viously  existed. 

Non-partisan         Although  the  Republicans  continued  under  Cleveland  to 
legislation.      control  the  Senate,  and  no  Democratic  program  of  legisla 
tion  could  be  carried  out,  many  useful  laws  of  a  non-partisan 
character  were  enacted.     In  1887  the  Tenure  of  Office  Act, 


INTERSTATE  COMMERCE  ACT  467 

which  had  never  been  literally  lived  up  to,  but  under  the 
shadow  of  which  had  grown  up  the  custom  of  "senatorial 
courtesy,"  by  which  the  senators  became  practical  dictators 
of  the  political  patronage  within  their  several  states,  was 
repealed.  In  1886  a  law  was  passed  providing  that  in  case  of 
the  death  of  the  President  and  Vice  President,  the  succession 
should  descend  through  the  cabinet,  from  the  Secretary  of 
State  downward  in  order  of  the  date  of  creation  of  the  several 
departments,  instead  of  going  to  the  president  of  the  Senate 
as  had  been  provided  in  1791. 

More  important  was  the  passage  in  1887  of  the  Interstate  interstate 
Commerce  Act.  This  was  largely  the  result  of  the  Granger  ^merce 
organization  in  the  West.  The  states  had  found  that  local 
regulation  could  accomplish  little  and  demanded  a  national 
law.  Bills  were  drawn  up  in  the  Senate  by  Senator  Cullom 
of  Illinois,  who,  as  governor  of  that  state,  was  familiar  with 
the  working  of  state  laws,  and  in  the  House  by  Mr.  Reagan  of 
Texas,  formerly  Postmaster- General  of  the  Confederacy. 
The  final  bill  was  framed  by  a  conference  committee  and 
represented  a  compromise.  It  provided  that  all  rates  for 
interstate  commerce  must  be  reasonable  and  must  be  made 
public,  it  forbade  discriminating  "rebates,"  and  "pools"  for 
the  purpose  of  fixing  non-competitive  rates  by  lines  normally 
competitive,  and  established  an  Interstate  Commerce  Commis 
sion  to  enforce  the  act.  This  act  is  important  constitution 
ally,  as  it  brought  into  full  vigor  a  clause  in  the  Constitution 
giving  Congress  powers  which  up  to  this  time  that  body  had 
entirely  neglected.  Economically  it  has  had  large  results 
in  reforming  the  conditions  of  transportation,  and  politi 
cally  it  finally  introduced  into  national  politics  a  question 
which  since  that  time  has  come  to  have  the  greatest  signifi 
cance. 

Of  still  greater  political  importance,  however,  was  the  Tariff 
discussion  over  the  tariff,  for  during  it  the  views  of  both  discussioa- 
parties  became  defined.    During  the  eighties  the  growth  of 


468 


THE  CURRENCY  AND   THE  TARIFF 


Defeat  of 

Randall. 


Cleveland's 
position  on 
the  tariff. 


the  country  resulted  in  a  great  increase  in  the  revenue,  and 
the  desirability  of  its  reduction  began  to  attract  attention. 
This  naturally  increased  interest  in  the  tariff  which  produced 
the  larger  part  of  the  revenue.  The  natural  method  of  reduc 
ing  the  revenue  was  by  reducing  the  customs  dues.  In  1882 
a  Tariff  Commission  was  appointed  to  consider  the  matter, 
and  in  1883  the  first  general  revision  since  the  Civil  War  was 
enacted.  While  there  was  reduction  in  some  duties,  the 
new  act  was,  perhaps,  as  protective  as  the  system  it  repealed. 
The  president  of  the  Commission  said:  "Reduction  in  itself 
was  by  no  means  desirable  to  us;  it  was  a  concession  to 
public  sentiment,  a  bending  of  the  top  and  branches  to  the 
wind  of  public  opinion  to  save  the  trunk  of  the  protective 
system.  In  a  word  the  object  was  protection  through  reduc 
tion." 

The  Democrats  were  as  always  divided,  but  a  majority 
favored  lower  rates,  and  in  1883,  when  they  regained  control 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  which  they  had  lost  in  1881, 
they  replaced  Samuel  J.  Randall,  a  Pennsylvania  Democrat 
and  protectionist,  who  had  been  Speaker  from  1876  to  1881, 
by  John  G.  Carlisle,  who  favored  a  tariff  for  revenue. 

This  change  marked  a  departure  from  the  straddling  policy 
which  that  party  had  so  long  carried  out  with  regard  to  the 
tariff.  In  1887  Cleveland  devoted  his  entire  annual  message 
to  the  subject  and  so  identified  his  party  with  the  policy  of 
reduction,  that  only  four  Democrats  voted  against  the  Mills 
Bill,  which  was  formed  as  a  result  of  his  recommendations.  He 
urged  that  the  tariff  constituted  a  tax  upon  the  people,  that 
by  it  more  money  was  raised  for  the  government  than  was 
necessary,  and  that  a  much  greater  amount  went  directly 
to  the  manufacturers  than  to  the  government.  He  pointed 
out  that  under  its  protection,  trusts  were  being  formed  which 
prevented  domestic  competition  and  so  kept  prices  unrea 
sonably  high.  He  argued  that  the  labor  employed  in  the 
protected  industries  constituted  but  a  small  proportion  of 


ELECTION  OF   1888  469 

that  of  the  whole  country,  and  that  even  such  labor,  would 
gain  as  much  by  the  lowering  of  prices  as  it  might  lose  by  the 
lowering  of  wages.  With  a  lower  rate  on  raw  materials,  he 
predicted  that  American  manufacturers  could  compete  in 
foreign  markets,  and  by  extending  their  trade  area,  render 
themselves  less  susceptible  to  the  influence  of  local  financial 
troubles.  He  did  not  recommend  free  trade,  but  reform. 
" It  is  a  condition,"  he  said,  "not  a  theory,  that  confronts  us." 
The  Mills  Bill  could  not  pass  the  Senate,  which  was  Republi 
can,  but  it  was  put  forward  as  an  earnest  of  what  the  Demo 
crats  would  do  if  they  secured  full  control  of  the  government. 

The  Republicans  also,  in  the  Senate,  framed  a  bill,  not  with  The  pro- 
a  view  to  passage,  but  to  exemplify  their  policies.  They  argument 
argued  that  the  revenue  might  be  reduced  and  the  tariff  at 
the  same  time  made  more  protective,  by  concentrating  the 
duties  on  articles  competing  with  those  produced  in  the 
United  States,  and  that  this  should  be  done.  They  appealed 
for  support  to  manufacturers  and  to  workmen,  arguing  the 
advantages  of  high  prices  and  high  wages.  This  appeal  to 
labor  distinguishes  the  protectionist  speeches  of  the  Repub 
licans  from  those  of  the  Whigs,  and  politically  it  was  their 
strongest  point.  The  Chinese  Exclusion  and  Alien  Contract 
laws,  protecting  labor  from  low-priced  competitors,  were 
really  portions  of  this  protective  system.  With  the  farmer 
their  case  was  less  strong.  The  old  home  market  argument 
had  little  weight  when  such  a  large  proportion  of  the  crop 
was  sold  abroad.  The  protection  of  wool  was  the  strongest 
direct  inducement  they  could  offer  this  class.  Their  ablest 
leaders,  such  as  Senator  Harrison  of  Indiana,  did  not  deny  a 
connection  between  the  tariff  and  the  trusts,  but  proposed 
to  meet  this  difficulty  by  restrictive  legislation. 

With  the  issue  thus  clearly  drawn,  the  parties  went  into  the  Election  of 
election,  the  Republicans  nominating  Benjamin  Harrison,   I 
the  Democrats  renominating  Cleveland.     The  intense  popu 
lar  interest  is  shown   by  an   increase  of   about  fifteen   per 


470  THE   CURRENCY  AND  THE  TARIFF 

cent  in- the  popular  vote.  While  Cleveland  gained  somewhat 
the  larger  share  of  this  increase,  the  Republicans  won  over 
New  York  and  Indiana,  the  only  two  states  to  change,  and 
thus  gained  the  election.  More  important  still,  the  Repub 
licans  won  the  House,  which  they  had  controlled  only  once 
since  1875,  that  is,  between  1881  and  1883 ;  and,  retaining 
a  majority  in  the  Senate,  they  were  in  a  position  to  carry  out 
their  policy  without  compromise.  Since  1875  no  party  had 
had  full  control  of  the  national  government. 

Republican  The  Republicans  had  an  elaborate  and  well-balanced  pro 

gram  which  they  determined  promptly  to  carry  out,  but 
first  it  was  necessary  to  consolidate  their  control.  Having 
loudly  attacked  the  election  frauds  common  in  the  South, 
by  which  negroes  were  prevented  from  voting,  they  unseated 
a  large  number  of  Democratic  members  of  the  House, 
chiefly  from  that  section,  and  put  Republicans  in  their  places. 
For  more  permanent  results,  they  looked  to  an  election  law, 
designed  to  protect  the  negro  voter.  This  Force  Bill  of  1890, 
framed  by  Senator  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  failed  to  pass, 
as  many  within  the  party  realized  the  danger  of  reviving  Civil 
War  issues.  It  was  the  last  attempt  to  control  the  southern 
electorate  by  national  authority.  More  successfully  the 
Republicans  sought  to  render  the  method  of  doing  business 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  less  dilatory.  This  was  the 
work  of  Thomas  B.  Reed,  of  Maine,  the  new  Speaker,  who  so 
extended  the  functions  of  his  office  as  to  earn  the  title  of 
"Czar."  He  practically  destroyed  the  power  of  the  minority 
to  delay  progress  either  by  the  usual  motions  or  by  refusing 
to  vote.  Moreover,  he  consolidated  in  his  own  hands  the 
power  thus  gained  for  the  majority.  He  controlled  the  calen 
dar  which  provided  for  bringing  bills  before  the  House,  and 
arranged  long  in  advance  the  speakers  who  should  be  recog 
nized.  Under  his  leadership,  Congress  was  able  to  pass  an 
extraordinarily  heavy  program. 

For  many  years  numbers  of  western  states  had    been 


McKINLEY  TARIFF  471 

clamorous  for  admission.  In  the  evenly  balanced  conditions  The  "  Omni- 
of  the  parties,  however,  every  vote  was  important ;  and  in 
each  case  a  new  state  was  assumed  to  be  of  advantage  to 
one  party  or  the  other.  It  had,  therefore,  proved  impossible 
to  authorize  admission  when  the  House  was  controlled  by 
one  party  and  the  Senate  by  the  other.  Most  of  the  states 
which  were  now  ready  were  Republican,  and  Congress  was 
glad  to  take  this  opportunity  to  strengthen  the  party,  and 
to  gain  the  gratitude  of  the  West,  at  the  same  time  doing 
something  which  must  sometime  be  done.  In  1889,  by  an  "  Om 
nibus  Bill,"  they  admitted  North  and  South  Dakota,  Mon 
tana,  and  Washington,  and  in  1890,  Wyoming  and  Idaho. 
By  dividing  Dakota,  and  by  omitting  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona,  which  were  Democratic,  they  secured  a  decided 
advantage  in  Congress.  While  the  first  twelve  new  senators 
and  seven  representatives  were  all  Republicans,  however,  the 
control  of  that  party  over  the  new  region  was  soon  proved  to 
be  far  from  stable. 

With  the  machinery  thus  ready,  the  Republicans  addressed  The  dis- 
themselves,  first,  to  the  task  of  getting  rid  of  the  surplus.  fiTsurpius. 
In  large  measure  they  considered  it  desirable  to  do  this  by 
increasing  expenditures.  Twenty  millions  were  used  in 
refunding  the  direct  tax  levied  upon  the  several  states  dur 
ing  the  Civil  War.  A  still  greater  expenditure,  and  one  des 
tined  to  be  a  charge  upon  the  treasury  for  many  years,  was 
involved  in  a  dependent  pension  bill  which  raised  the  amount 
annually  required  for  that  service  from  about  ninety  million 
to  one  hundred  and  forty  million.  Increasing  sums  were 
also  voted  for  the  new  navy,  the  beginnings  of  which  had 
been  made  under  Arthur  and  Cleveland,  by  their  efficient 
secretaries,  Chandler  and  Whitney. 

Chief  in  importance,  however,  was  the  tariff.     Their  bill,   McKinley 
which  was  passed  in  1890,  was  popularly  known  by  the  name 
of  McKinley,  who  was  chairman  of  the  House  Committee 
on  Ways  and  Means,  but  it  received  significant  changes  in 


472  THE   CURRENCY  AND   THE   TARIFF 

the  Senate,  where  Senator  Aldrich  of  Rhode  Island  had 
charge  of  it.  The  principal  feature  of  the  bill  was,  that 
duties  on  competitive  articles  were  raised,  being  in  many 
instances  placed  so  high  as  to  discourage  importation,  and 
thus  actually  diminish  the  revenue.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  duty  on  certain  raw  materials  such  as  sugar  was  abol 
ished,  the  sugar  planters  being  compensated  by  a  direct 
bounty.  Thus  protection  was  increased  and  revenue  re 
duced.  As  the  bill  originally  stood  it  contained  little  that 
would  appeal  to  the  farming  interests  or  would  tend  to  the 
development  of  an  export  trade.  Elaine,  at  this  time  again 
Secretary  of  State,  said  that  it  did  not  provide  a  market  for 
a  single  pound  of  American  pork  or  a  single  barrel  of  American 
flour,  and  that  he  would  give  two  years  of  his  life  for  two 
hours  on  the  Senate  floor  to  oppose  it.  Elaine  wished  to 
amend  it  by  providing  for  reciprocity  with  the  other  countries 
of  America,  a  policy  which  was  in  line  with  his  general  idea 
of  developing  friendly  relations  with  those  countries  and  in 
accordance  with  the  recommendations  of  the  Pan-American 
Congress  which  had  met  at  his  call  in  1889.  His  criticisms 
were  supported  by  many  members  of  Congress  and  much 
public  sentiment  in  the  northwestern  states.  As  a  result, 
the  bill  was  amended  by  Senator  Aldrich,  to  the  effect  that 
though  sugar,  molasses,  tea,  coffee,  and  hides  remained  on 
the  free  list,  the  President  was  to  have  power  to  impose  cer 
tain  prescribed  duties  on  those  articles  whenever  he  should 
consider  that  the  duties  imposed  by  other  countries  on  "the 
agricultural  or  other  products  of  the  United  States"  were 
"reciprocally  unjust  or  unreasonable."  This  reciprocity 
provision  was,  however,  made  general  instead  of  American 
as  Elaine  had  proposed.  Under  it  a  number  of  treaties  were 
negotiated  by  which  "unjust  and  unreasonable"  duties  on 
United  States  products  were  reduced,  but  these  were  not 
long  enough  in  force  to  show  how  far  such  a  policy  might 
ultimately  be  of  benefit. 


REPUBLICAN  PROGRAM  473 

The  Republican  expedient  of  securing  and  expanding  Anti-trust 
foreign  markets  by  legislative  and  administrative  regulation  le£lslatlon- 
contrasted  with  the  Democratic  plan  of  obtaining  them  by 
freer  trade  and  less  legislation,  and  showed  that  the  funda 
mental  party  differences,  found  in  the  earliest  days  of  the 
republic,  were  still  at  the  bottom  of  the  respective  party 
politics.  Cleveland,  like  Jefferson,  would  leave  the  individual 
as  free  as  possible  and  use  government  to  maintain  that 
freedom ;  McKinley  and  Elaine  would  have  the  government 
foster  private  enterprise  by  beneficial  legislation.  The  same 
difference  is  noticeable  in  the  attitude  of  the  two  parties 
toward  the  trusts.  Whereas  Cleveland  proposed  to 
attack  them  by  removing  their  support  in  the  tariff,  the 
Republicans  proposed  preventive  legislation.  Already 
twenty-five  states  had  passed  laws  against  them,  and  now 
Senator  Sherman  brought  in  a  bill  which  after  much  dis 
cussion  and  many  changes  passed  and  came  to  be  popularly 
known  as  the  Sherman  Anti- Trust  Law  of  1890.  This  law  Sherman 
declares  "any  contract,  combination  in  the  form  of  a  trust  L"W" 
or  otherwise,  or  conspiracy,  in  restraint  of  trade  or  commerce 
among  the  several  states,"  illegal,  and  its  promoters  punish 
able  by  fine  or  imprisonment.  This  was  intended  to  appeal 
particularly  to  the  western  states,  but  it  was  ten  years  before 
its  enforcement  seriously  began,  and  twenty  years  before 
the  courts  made  its  meaning  reasonably  clear. 

The  Republicans^also  repealed  in  1891  the  preemption  law  Silver  Pur- 
of  1841  under  the  cover  of  which  the  sheep  raisers  of  the 
western  plains  were  securing  vast  holdings.  This  law  had 
worked  fairly  well  in  regions  where  land  had  to  be  broken  to 
cultivation  by  individual  effort,  but  it  led  to  fraud  and  mo 
nopoly  in  regions  where  exploitation  at  little  expense  but  on 
a  large  scale  was  possible.  This  was  a  western  measure,  but 
one  which  while  it  pleased  some  alienated  others.  Another 
measure  adopted  with  an  eye  to  the  West  was  Senator 
Sherman's  Silver  Purchase  Act  of  1890,  which  repealed  the 


474 


THE   CURRENCY  AND   THE  TARIFF 


Reaction. 


People's  or 

Populist 

party. 


Bland  Act  of  1878,  and  provided  that  the  treasury  purchase 
four  million  five  hundred  thousand  ounces  of  silver  every 
month,  and  pay  for  it  in  new  treasury  notes  which  should 
not  be  legal  tender.  This  act  was  intended  to  raise  silver  to 
the  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one  with  gold,  which  had  been  estab 
lished  by  the  government  in  1834,  but  which  had  ceased  to  • 
correspond  with  the  actual  fact.  It  represented  rather 
a  sop  to  the  western  cheap  currency  advocates  and  silver 
mine  owners,  than  the  convictions  of  Senator  Sherman  and 
the  Republican  leaders.  It  was  a  compromise  intended  to 
quiet  the  agitation  for  free  coinage  of  silver. 

No  party  had  ever  before  adopted  at  one  time  such  a 
comprehensive  system  of  legislation,  and  the  politicians' 
feeling  that  action  is  dangerous  was  justified  by  the  imme 
diate  and  violent  reaction  that  followed.  The  silver  mining 
states  were  not  satisfied  with  the  Purchase  Act,  the  North 
west  did  not  regard  the  reciprocity  and  anti-trust  legislation 
as  sufficient  attention  to  their  wants,  the  East  was  alarmed 
at  the  vastly  increased  expenses  combined  with  the  reduction 
in  revenue.  The  tariff  was  everywhere  regarded  as  an  ex 
treme  measure  and  was  popular  only  in  those  districts  directly 
favored.  As  happens  often  when  defeat  is  approaching, 
local  causes  cooperated  to  weaken  the  Republicans.  Thus, 
in  Wisconsin  a  controversy  regarding  religious  teaching  in 
the  schools  worked  against  that  party.  The  Democrats 
carried  the  House  of  Representatives  by  an  overwhelming 
majority  and  a  deadlock  ensued  for  the  last  two  years  of 
Harrison's  administration. 

Between  1889  and  1892  a  new  movement  of  unrest  had 
been  taking  shape  in  the  West,  the  successor  of  the  Granger 
and  Greenback  parties.  Prosperity  during  the  last  fifteen 
years  had  driven  the  frontier  of  discontent  somewhat  farther 
west,  but  it  had  gained  territory  by  the  expansion  of  agricul 
tural  population  into  the  country  extending  to  the  bases  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  development  of  mining  commu- 


ELECTION  OF   1892 


475 


nities  in  the  mountains.  Politically  its  power  was  increased 
by  the  admission  of  the  six  new  states.  In  part,  conditions 
simply  reproduced  those  that  had  always  existed  on  the 
frontier  wherever  it  had  been,  but  economic  distress  was 
aggravated  by  the  fact  that  in  the  Kansas- Nebraska  region 
farmers,  tempted  by  a  few  exceptionally  wet  years,  had 
pressed  into  semi-arid  regions  which  they  did  not  know  how 
to  cultivate.  A  number  of  dry  seasons  found  them  in  debt 
and  left  them  bankrupt.  Organizations  called  Farmers7 


ELECTION  OF  1892 

Alliances  and  Industrial  Unions  were  formed  in  1889.  These 
spread  rapidly,  and  soon  found  a  foothold  in  the  South, 
where  the  farmers  were  continually  in  debt  to  the  merchants, 
who  charged  high  rates  for  money.  In  1891  a  national 
convention  met  in  Cincinnati,  the  title  of  "People's"  party 
was  adopted,  and  a  comprehensive  platform  framed  demand 
ing  the  free  coinage  of  silver  at  the  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one,  a 
graduated  income  tax,  a  national  paper  currency  to  be  loaned 
on  the  security  of  land  and  crops  at  two  per  cent  interest, 
and  government  ownership  of  railroads  and  telegraphs. 


476 


THE   CURRENCY  AND   THE  TARIFF 


Election  of 
Cleveland. 


Crisis  of 
1893- 


This  party  secured  control  of  Kansas  and  other  states,  and 
in  1892  nominated  for  the  presidency  James  B.  Weaver,  the 
Greenback  candidate  of  1880. 

The  Republican  and  Democratic  parties  presented  the 
same  candidates  for  the  presidency  as  in  1888,  and  practically 
the  same  platforms.  The  Republicans  lost  heavily  in  the 
West,  where  the  Populist  party  carried  twenty-two  elec 
toral  votes  that  would  normally  have  been  Republican.  The 
election,  however,  was  decided  in  the  East.  Here  the  Repub 
licans  lost  nearly  everywhere  by  the  "stay  at  home  vote." 
Harrison  was  able,  and  a  good  administrator,  but  he  was 
unsympathetic  and  could  not  arouse  enthusiasm,  and  nearly 
every  one  was  still  dissatisfied  with  some  feature  of  the 
Republican  program.  The  Democrats  about  maintained 
their  figures  of  1888,  won  the  doubtful  states,  and  elected 
Cleveland,  together  with  a  majority  in  both  houses  of  Con 
gress,  thus  attaining  full  control  of  the  government  for  the 
first  time  since  the  Civil  War. 

Two  causes  rendered  this  an  almost  barren  victory. 
First  was  the  severe  financial  and  industrial  panic  which 
came  upon  the  country  in  the  fall  of  1893.  The  enormous 
industrial  advances  of  the  past  fifteen  years  had  led  to  an 
undue  expansion  of  credit.  Suddenly  public  confidence  be 
came  shaken,  credit  vanished,  and  tangible  resources  were 
insufficient.  Thousands  of  enterprises  were  forced  into 
bankruptcy,  and  nearly  all  others  were  carried  on  at  a  re 
duced  scale.  A  period  of  hard  times,  with  failures,  and  with 
the  cities  filled  with  unemployed,  succeeded.  The  govern 
ment  was  poorly  equipped  to  deal  with  this  situation.  The 
radical  financial  changes  introduced  by  the  Republicans 
had  made  it  very  difficult  for  the  congressional  leaders  to 
forecast  the  revenues  and  expenses,  and  as  these  two  sides 
of  the  balance  sheet  are,  by  congressional  practice,  arranged 
by  separate  committees,  the  uncertainty  of  the  estimates 
was  even  greater  than  it  might  otherwise  have  been.  The 


CLEVELAND'S   SECOND   ADMINISTRATION         477 

expenditure  for  pensions  proved  to  be  greater  than  had 
been  anticipated,  and  the  occurrence  of  the  panic  reduced 
the  revenue  more  than  had  been  counted  upon  in  framing 
the  tariff.  The  result  was  a  deficit. 

The  second  cause  was  the  division  within  the  party  on  The  silver 
the  silver  question,  which  now  became  acute.  A  great  in-  Becomes 
crease  in  the  production  of  silver  was  accompanied  at  this  acute- 
time  by  a  movement  on  the  part  of  many  governments, 
particularly  that  of  British  India,  to  put  their  finances  upon 
a  gold  basis  and  discontinue  their  purchases  of  silver.  As  a 
natural  result,  the  market  value  of  silver  rapidly  declined 
and  that  held  by  the  United  States  was  becoming  daily  of 
less  value.  As  the  government  was  bound  to  redeem  the 
notes  issued  against  this  silver  in  either  silver  or  gold  as  the 
holder  might  demand,  the  strain  on  the  treasury  was  enor 
mous.  To  meet  this  situation,  President  Cleveland,  in 
August,  called  a  special  session  of  Congress,  by  which  the 
silver  purchase  clause  of  the  act  of  1890  was  repealed.  This 
drastic  method  of  handling  the  financial  situation  recalls  the 
"Specie  Circular"  of  Jackson,  and,  indeed,  Cleveland  seems 
to  have  had  in  mind  the  "hard  money"  policy  pursued  by 
the  Democrats  after  the  panic  of  1837.  This  policy  of  adopt 
ing  hard  money  at  the  very  moment  when  the  cry  for  soft 
money  was  heightened  by  the  universal  economic  distress, 
not  unnaturally  led  to  a  serious  break  between  the  small 
number  of  Democratic  senators  favorable  to  silver,  and  the 
majority  of  the  party.  As  these  silver  senators,  represent 
ing  the  newer  agricultural  states  and  those  interested  in 
silver  mining,  held  the  balance  of  power  in  the  Senate,  the 
administration  having  passed  this  measure  only  with  Re 
publican  support,  the  remainder  of  the  Democratic  legisla 
tive  program  was  endangered. 

The  most  important  feature  of  this  program  was  a  tariff  tar^ff       n 


bill,  and  one  was  at  length  passed,  in  1894.     It  was  obtained, 
bowever,  only  by  a  series  of  compromises  which  made  it  far  gram. 


478  THE   CURRENCY  AND    THE  TARIFF 

from  the  consistent  measure  desired  by  the  administration, 
or  designed  by  its  author,  William  L.  Wilson  of  West 
Virginia.  Duties  were  lowered,  certain  raw  materials,  par 
ticularly  wool,  were  placed  on  the  free  list,  and  a  duty  was 
reimposed  on  sugar.  As  the  estimated  revenue  was  still 
below  requirements,  and  as  the  sugar  duty  was  one  which 
would  fall  heaviest  upon  the  poor,  the  same  bill  was  made 
to  include  an  income  tax  to  apply  only  to  incomes  of  over 
four  thousand  dollars.  This  law  was  subsequently  declared 
unconstitutional  by  the  Supreme  Court,  and  consequently 
the  government  was  continually  embarrassed  in  its  finances. 
A  total  deficit  of  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  accumu 
lated  during  the  four  years,  and  the  administration,  in  order 
to  maintain  the  practice  of  redemption  in  gold,  was  forced 
to  contract  a  "gold  loan"  at  a  rather  heavy  rate,  from  a 
group  of  New  York  bankers  headed  by  J.  Pierpont  Morgan. 
Labor  While  the  administration  was  struggling  with  these  diffi 

culties  it  was  widely  held  responsible  for  the  panic  itself  and 
all  its  consequences,  though  few  grounds  could  be  urged  for 
such  a  charge  except  that  the  event  happened  at  the  time. 
The  panic  had  not  only  aggravated  the  distress  of  the  West, 
but  had  hit  much  more  severely  the  industrial  East.  Here 
the  new  labor  organizations  had  for  some  years  been  resort 
ing  to  strikes,  which  often  endangered  and  occasionally 
broke  the  public  peace.  In  1892  much  blood  was  shed  at 
Homestead  in  Pennsylvania.  In  1894  a  great  railroad  strike, 
originating  among  the  employees  of  the  Pullman  Company, 
was  declared  at  Chicago,  which  tied  up  traffic  at  that  im 
portant  point,  and  threatened  to  result  in  serious  violence. 
Governor  Altgeld  of  Illinois  refused  to  call  out  the  state 
troops.  Thereupon,  President  Cleveland  sent  federal  troops 
to  Chicago,  on  the  ground  that  the  United  States  mail  was 
interfered  with,  and  the  result  of  his  action  was  that  the 
strike  was  broken.  The  President  through  this  act  appeared 
to  the  discontented  industrial  workers  as  an  opponent,  as 


CAMPAIGN  OF   1896  479 

his  antisilver  policy  had  made  him  appear  to  the  discon 
tented  farmers  and  miners.  In  1894  the  Democratic  ma 
jority  in  the  House  of  Representatives  was  lost,  further 
party  legislation  was  blocked,  and  the  President  was  at  odds 
with  most  of  his  party. 

Under  these  circumstances  the  campaign  of  1896  began.  Nominations 
The  Republican  convention  met  first.  It  nominated  for  m  l8g6' 
the  presidency  William  McKinley,  the  author  of  the  tariff 
bill  of  1890  and  at  the  time  governor  of  Ohio.  The  managers 
hoped  to  make  the  fight  hinge  once  more  on  the  tariff  ques 
tion.  The  convention,  by  a  vote  of  812^  to  noj,  declared 
in  favor  of  the  gold  standard.  This  led  to  a  bolt  from  the 
party.  Many  of  the  Republican  advocates  of  free  coinage 
followed  Senator  Teller  of  Colorado  in  a  secession  whose 
goal  depended  on  the  result  of  the  Democratic  convention. 
That  convention  was  strongly  divided  on  the  currency  ques 
tion.  A  vigorous  minority  supported  the  gold  policy  of  the 
Cleveland  administration.  If  the  gold  advocates  had  won, 
there  would  undoubtedly  have  been  formed  a  powerful  third 
party,  for  the  currency  question  was  the  one  of  paramount 
public  interest,  and  was  bound  to  force  itself  into  politics  as 
had  the  Texas  question  in  1844.  It  happened,  however, 
that  the  silver  advocates  captured  the  convention,  which 
declared  in  favor  of  the  free  coinage  of  silver  at  the  ratio  of 
sixteen  to  one.  With  a  platform  radically  new,  a  new 
leader  was  desirable,  and  was  found  in  William  Jennings 
Bryan  of  Nebraska,  who  captivated  the  convention  by  a 
remarkably  dramatic  speech  closing  with  an  appeal  not  to 
"crucify  mankind  upon  a  cross  of  gold."  This  convention, 
also,  was  followed  by  a  party  split,  certain  leaders  known  as  . 
the  " Gold-Democrats"  nominating  General  Palmer  of  Illi 
nois  and  General  Buckner  of  Kentucky  on  an  independent 
ticket.  This  loss  was  fully  made  up  by  the  accession  of 
Senator  Teller  and  his  followers,  while  the  Populists  also 
fused  with  the  Democrats. 


480 


THE   CURRENCY   AND   THE  TARIFF 


The  election 
of  1896. 


The  net  result  was  that  the  issue  on  the  currency  ques^ 
tion  was  plainly  presented  to  the  people.  From  the  seven 
teenth  century  it  had  been  a  potent  factor  in  American 
politics,  but  never  before  had  an  opportunity  been  given 
for  a  contest  on  it  so  devoid  of  complications.  The  cam 
paign  was  distinctly  educational.  Mr.  Bryan  made  a  vigor 
ous  campaign,  speaking  all  over  the  country,  and  the  Repub 
lican  campaign  was  admirably  organized  by  Mr.  McKinley's 
friend,  Mark  Hanna  of  Ohio.  The  result  of  the  campaign 


ELECTION  OF  1896 

was  a  complete  change  in  the  party  alignment  of  the  sections. 
Bryan  carried  all  those  states  which  could  be  considered  as 
still  showing  frontier  characteristics.  He  carried  all  the 
states  voting  for  Weaver  in  1892,  he  won  from  the  Republi 
cans  Nebraska,  South  Dakota,  Washington,  and  Wyoming. 
In  the  region  west  of  the  Missouri  and  excepting  the  older 
communities  of  California,  Oregon,  and  North  Dakota,  he 
carried  the  entire  forty-five  electoral  votes,  where  in  1892 
the  Democrats  had  not  obtained  a  single  one.  In  addition 
he  carried  the  Solid  South  and  the  single  border  state  of 


McKINLEY'S  ADMINISTRATION  481 

Missouri,  where  the  conditions  producing  the  silver  move 
ment  were  still  powerful.  The  Republicans,  on  the  other 
hand,  swept  the  entire  North  above  the  Missouri  River, 
winning  sixty-four  votes  Democratic  in  1892,  besides  Cali 
fornia,  with  Delaware,  Maryland,  West  Virginia,  and  Ken 
tucky,  border  states  solidly  allied  with  the  South  and  with 
Democracy  since  1872.  The  popular  vote  was  enormous, 
reflecting  the  immense  popular  interest.  Mr.  Bryan  re 
ceived  nearly  a  million  more  votes  than  any  candidate  had 
obtained  at  any  previous  election,  and  his  success  in  uniting 
for  the  first  time  the  agricultural  and  mining  interests  of  the 
West  with  the  labor  interests  of  the  East  marked  him  as  a 
force  to  reckon  with  in  the  future.  Nevertheless  McKinley 
defeated  him  by  six  hundred  thousand  in  the  popular  vote, 
and  271  to  176  in  the  electoral  vote. 

The  excessive  representation  of  the  thinly  populated  The  end 
western  states  in  the  Senate  left  the  silver  element  still  agitation^ 
powerful,  and  the  Republicans  promptly  revived  the  coin 
age  of  silver,  though  to  the  extent  of  a  million  and  a  half 
a  month,  only.  The  rapid  rise  of  prosperity,  however, 
speedily  contracted  the  area  of  financial  discontent,  and 
unparalleled  discoveries  of  gold  mines  and  the  increase  in 
gold  production  throughout  the  world  caused  that  metal 
to  be  sufficiently  abundant.  By  1900,  therefore,  it  was 
found  possible  to  put  the  country  definitely  upon  a  gold 
basis  by  act  of  Congress.  In  the  same  year  a  slight  readjust 
ment  of  the  national  banking  law  resulted  in  an  increase  in 
bank  note  circulation. 

With  still  greater  promptness  the  Republicans  proceeded  Dingley 
to  the  reestablishment  of  their  tariff  system.  Under  the  direc 
tion  of  Nelson  Dingley,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways 
and  Means,  a  tariff  bill  was  presented  to  Congress  at  an  extra 
session.  Mr.  Reed  hastened  its  passage,  and  it  was  adopted 
in  1897.  This  returned  with  emphasis  to  the  highly  pro 
tective  features  of  the  McKinley  tariff,  but  revenue  needs 


482  THE   CURRENCY  AND   THE  TARIFF 

led  to  the  imposition  of  a  duty  on  sugar.  There  was  pro 
vision  for  reciprocity,  but,  except  within  narrow  limits,  the 
assent  of  both  houses  of  Congress  was  made  necessary. 
In  practice  this  provision  proved  sufficient  to  enable  the 
administration  to  prevent  retaliation  because  of  the  Dingley 
duties,  but  not  to  obtain  the  opening  of  new  markets. 

The  Republican  program  of  1890  was  once  more  in 
effect,  but  before  the  end  of  the  century  arrived  it  had  be 
come  evident  that  a  new  era  was  at  hand,  and  that  both 
parties  must  adjust  themselves  to  new  conditions  and  attack 
new  problems. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

Sources.  Cleveland's  Message,  Richardson,  Messages,  VIII,  580-591. 

Wallace,  Harrison  and  Morton,  278-295. 

Historical  D.  R.  Dewey,  National  Problems.    Croly,  H.,  Marcus  Hanna. 

accounts.  £.  £.  Sparks,  National  Development.  Stanwood,  E.,  American 
Tariff  Controversies,  vol.  II.  Taussig,  F.  W.,  Tariff  History,  155- 
283.  Dewey,  D.  R.,  Financial  History,  chs.  XIX,  XX.  Paxson, 
F.  L.,  The  Last  American  Frontier.  Turner,  F.  J.,  The  Contribu 
tions  to  the  West  of  American  Democracy,  Atlantic  Monthly,  Jan., 
1903.  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Yearbook,  1902,  109-113. 
Buck,  S.  J.,  Granger  Movement.  Ringwalt,  J.  L.,  Transportation 
Systems,  2  2  9-2 33,26 5-2  69 .  Ripley ,  W.  Z . ,  Railway  Problems :  Rates 
and  Regulation.  Coman,  K.,  Industrial  History  (rev.  ed.),  354-374. 
Adams,  T.,  and  Sumner,  H.  L.,  Labor  Problems. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
THE  SPANISH  WAR  AND  DIPLOMACY 

WHEN  McKinley  was  inaugurated  few  persons  imagined  international 
that  the  chief  concern  of  his  administration  would  be  foreign  I: 
affairs.  Since  the  Napoleonic  wars  the  United  States  had 
been  so  isolated  from  European  complications  that  separa 
tion  was  thought  of  as  normal  and  permanent.  The  Monroe 
Doctrine  had  for  seventy-five  years  represented  an  actual 
condition.  The  annexations  of  the  forties  and  fifties,  more 
over,  had  rounded  out  American  territory,  and  seemed  to 
quiet  the  intrigues  and  disputes  which  up  to  the  Civil  War 
had  unsettled  our  relations  with  other  American  powers. 
Nevertheless,  powerful  influences  were  at  work  to  draw  us 
out  of  this  quietude. 

While  the  better  known  aspects  of  the  Monroe  Doc-  Elaine  and 
trine,  refraining  from  interference  with  European  affairs  Doctrine™6 
and  preventing  European  interference  in  America,  had  be 
come  well-accepted  public  policy,  one  side  of  it  was  far  from 
realization.  The  United  States  had  not  become  in  any 
sense  the  leader  of  the  American  republics.  England  had 
sustained  Canning's  policy  better  than  this  country  had 
supported  that  of  Adams  and  Clay.  England  held  the 
greater  portion  of  Spanish- American  trade,  and  exerted  more 
influence  than  the  United  States.  Germany,  too,  by  trade 
everywhere  and  by  colonization  in  Brazil,  was  taking  second 
place.  Mr.  Elaine,  as  Secretary  of  State  in  1881  and  1889 
to  1892,  had  sought  to  change  this  condition.  His  policy 
was  to  make  the  United  States  the  arbiter  in  Spanish- Ameri 
can  disputes,  whether  they  were  between  different  American 
powers,  or  between  any  of  them  and  European  countries. 

483 


484  THE  SPANISH   WAR   AND   DIPLOMACY 

He  desired  also  to  unite  the  American  countries  by  recip 
rocal  treaty  privileges,  and  to  bind  all  together  by  means  of 
a  Pan-American  Conference  which  should  recommend  these 
and  other  common  policies  to  the  several  countries.  Mr. 
Elaine's  projects  resulted  in  disappointment,  partly  because 
of  mismanagement,  but  chiefly  because  of  public  apathy. 
They  were  based,  however,  upon  the  growing  need  of  the 
expanding  industrial  development  at  home  for  foreign  trade. 
They  represented  one  solution  of  the  pressing  problem  of 
trade  expansion. 

Venezuela  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that,  although  Mr.  Elaine 

ir"  was  somewhat  discredited  by  his  work  as  Secretary  of  State, 

his  ideas  were  taken  up  after  his  death.  His  first  line  of 
policy  in  fact  received  its  most  daring  expression  under 
Secretary  Olney,  during  Cleveland's  second  administration, 
in  the  case  of  the  Venezuela  affair.  This  arose  from  a  bound 
ary  dispute  between  that  country  and  Great  Britain.  As  a 
conclusion  to  a  protracted  negotiation,  Mr.  Olney  asserted 
that  the  United  States,  in  following  the  Monroe  Doctrine, 
had  the  right  to  demand  the  settlement  of  such  a  dispute  by 
arbitration,  in  order  that  it  might  be  convinced  that  Great 
Britain  was  not  encroaching  upon  an  American  power. 
While  this  might  be  considered  a  reasonable,  if  somewhat 
far-fetched,  extension  of  the  doctrine  laid  down  in  Monroe's 
message,  Mr.  Olney's  further  statements  that  the  fiat  of 
the  United  States  was  law  upon  the  American  continents 
and  that  existing  European  colonies  on  this  continent  were 
temporary,  certainly  represented  new  aspirations  rather  than 
established  facts.  President  Cleveland  supported  Secretary 
Olney  with  a  message  in  1895  so  vigorous  that  nervous 
public  sentiment  anticipated  a  war  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain.  The  latter  country,  however, 
assented  to  arbitration,  on  a  somewhat  restricted  basis,  and 
the  matter  was  amicably  arranged,  although,  of  course, 
Great  Britain  did  not  accept  Mr.  Olney's  general  principles. 


CANAL  POLICY  485 

The  general  popularity  of  the  Venezuelan  policy  was  in 
marked  contrast  with  the  response  to  Mr.  Blame's  policies, 
and  revealed  a  growing  interest  in  foreign  affairs. 

This  interest  was  further  illustrated  by  the  change  of  Canal 
attitude  with  regard  to  an  interoceanic  canal.  Interest  in  P0^- 
this  project  had  declined  for  a  time  after  the  construction 
of  the  transcontinental  railroads,  which  seemed  to  answer  all 
needs.  In  the  eighties,  however,  the  discontent  over  rail 
road  rates  drew  attention  to  the  advantage  of  establishing  a 
water  route  that  might,  by  competition,  lower  them.  As 
such  a  canal  must  be  constructed  through  Colombia  or 
Nicaragua,  neither  of  them  able  to  finance  or  protect  it, 
and  would  be  used  by  shipping  from  all  the  countries  in  the 
world,  its  international  position  must  be  settled  before  capi 
tal  would  be  invested.  The  traditional  policy  of  the  United 
States  had  been  for  a  canal  of  which  the  advantages  should 
be  open  equally  to  all  nations  and  of  which  the  neutrality 
should  be  guaranteed  by  international  agreement.  The 
Clayton-Bulwer  treaty  of  1850  with  Great  Britain  had 
placed  us  under  obligation  to  that  country  to  maintain  this 
policy.  When,  however,  in  1878,  the  formation  of  a  French 
company  made  the  construction  of  a  canal  an  immediate 
possibility,  it  was  found  that  another  idea  had  developed. 
Mr.  Evarts,  Secretary  of  State  under  Hayes,  and  afterwards 
Mr.  Blaine,  asserted  that  such  a  canal  must  be  American, 
and  under  the  control  of  the  United  States  government. 
President  Hayes  said  it  would  constitute  part  of  "the  coast 
line  of  the  United  States."  Steps  were  taken  for 'the  forma 
tion  of  an  American  company  to  use,  as  the  French  had 
taken  the  Panama  route,  that  through  Nicaragua. 

This  new  policy  was  opposed  by  President  Cleveland,   Failure  of 
and   the   Clayton-Bulwer  treaty   stood   in   the   way.     The 
French  company,  too,  discovered  difficulties,  financial  and 
physical,  and  as  a  result  practically  nothing  was  accom 
plished  during  the  nineteenth  century.     The  problem,  how- 


486 


THE  SPANISH   WAR  AND  DIPLOMACY 


The  Pacific. 


Samoa  and 
Hawaii. 


ever,  was  one  which  could  not  permanently  remain  unsolved, 
and  the  attitude  of  the  United  States  gave  another  indica 
tion  of  its  rising  interest  in  foreign  affairs. 

While  American  problems  were  thus  becoming  more 
important,  a  new  field  of  interest  was  opening  up  in  the 
Pacific.  From  the  time  of  the  Confederation,  American 
vessels  had  frequented  that  ocean,  their  trade  comprehend 
ing  the  Oregon  coast,  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  and  China. 
These  traders  were  followed  by  whalers  whose  chief  purpose 
was  securing  whale  oil,  which  down  to  the  discovery  of 
petroleum  was  widely  used  as  an  illuminant.  After  the 
Civil  War  this  occupation  gradually  died  away,  but  for  many 
years  it  had  kept  the  American  flag  in  the  Pacific.  The 
whalers  were  followed  by  missionaries  who  were  as  daring, 
and  whose  influence,  particularly  in  Hawaii,  was  more  last 
ing.  To  these  general  influences  the  United  States  had 
from  1791  added  a  claim  by  discovery  to  the  Columbia 
River  and  the  Oregon  country.  This  claim  had  become  more 
definite  after  the  treaty  of  1819  with  Spain,  which  had  given 
us  all  her  rights  as  far  south  as  the  forty-second  parallel. 
The  treaties  with  England  in  1846  and  with  Mexico  in  1848 
gave  us  a  fixed  hold  on  that  portion  of  the  Pacific  coast  of 
America  which  contains  the  best  harbors,  while  the  annexa 
tion  of  Alaska  in  1867  stretched  out  an  arm  toward  Asia. 
In  the  meantime  the  treaty  of  1844,  which  secured  the  open- 
ing  of  "treaty  ports"  in  China,  and  that  of  1854,  which 
opened  up  Japan  to  the  Western  world  and  marks  the  new 
birth. of  the  Japanese  nation,  added  prestige  to  power. 

In  1878  a  treaty,  almost  inadvertently  made  so  far  as 
the  government  at  Washington  was  concerned,  promised 
our  good  offices  to  the  government  of  the  Samoan  Islands. 
During  Cleveland's  first  administration  that  government  got 
into  difficulties  with  England  and  Germany.  The  United 
States  interfered,  and  after  a  long  and  somewhat  turbulent 
negotiation  became  a  party  to  the  General  Act  of  Berlin  of 


PROBLEM   OF  THE  PACIFIC  487 

1889.  By  this  act  the  independence  of  Samoa  was  recog 
nized,  but  its  government  was  to  be  under  the  tutelage  of 
Great  Britain,  Germany,  and  the  United  States.  Thus  for 
the  first  time  we  were  drawn  into  the  responsibilities  of  a 
protectorate,  and  an  "  en  tangling  alliance"  with  two  Euro 
pean  powers.  In  the  Hawaiian  Islands  we  had  long  taken 
a  special  interest.  We  had,  in  fact,  asserted  since  1842 
that  practically,  from  their  position,  they  came  under  the 
protection  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine.  In  1892  a  revolution 
in  the  islands  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  republic  there, 
dominated  by  American  influence,  which  immediately 
requested  annexation  by  the  United  States.  This  request 
was  readily  indorsed  by  the  Harrison  administration,  and 
the  matter  was  pressed  by  J.  W.  Foster,  who  had  suc 
ceeded  Mr.  Blaine  as  Secretary  of  State  in  1892.  Cleveland 
opposed  annexation,  and  upon  becoming  President  in  1893, 
withdrew  the  treaty  for  that  purpose  which  he  found  before 
the  Senate.  The  question  was,  however,  sure  to  be  brought 
up  again  under  McKinley.  This  gradual  growth  of  Ameri 
can  influence  in  the  Pacific  had  been  the  result  rather  of  real 
underlying  forces  and  of  favorable  accidents  than  of  general 
policy.  As  a  result,  however,  the  United  States  stood  in 
1898  in  a  position  where  the  future  control  of  that  ocean  and 
the  development  of  the  countries  in  and  about  it  must 
receive  its  attention. 

The  immediate  question,  however,  which  forced  foreign  Situation  in 
affairs  before  the  public  was  a  revolution  in  Cuba.     The  Cuba- 
revolution  there  during  Grant's  administration  had  brought 
the  United  States  and  Spain  several  times  to  the  verge  of 
war,  but  a  combination  of  the  skillful  diplomacy  of  Secretary 
Fish  and  accident  had  preserved  the  peace.     In  1895  a  new 
revolution  broke  out.    The  proximity  of  the  island  to  the 
United  States,  the  large  investments  held  there  by  United 
States  citizens,  and  the  fact  that  many  Cubans  held  United 
States  naturalization  papers,  all  brought  constant  annoy- 


488  THE   SPANISH  WAR   AND  DIPLOMACY 

ance.  Although  President  Cleveland,  and  after  him  Presi 
dent  McKinley,  endeavored  earnestly  to  enforce  the  neu 
trality  of  the  United  States,  the  Spanish  government  was 
not  satisfied  and  protested  that  the  revolution  would  die 
out  but  for  aid  from  this  country.  The  United  States  as 
serted,  as  it  had  under  Secretary  Fish,  that  its  position  gave 
it  the  right  to  insist  that  the  Spanish  government  bring  the 
revolution  to  a  close  within  a  reasonable  time,  or  grant  the 
demands  of  the  Cubans.  American  public  sentiment  was 
particularly  excited  by  the  Spanish  war  methods.  Es 
pecially  obnoxious  was  the  reconcentrado  policy,  carried  out 
by  General  Weyler,  of  concentrating  the  population  in  cer 
tain  centers  and  then  devastating  the  surrounding  planta 
tions  in  order  to  prevent  the  insurrectionary  bands  from 
living  on  the  country.  The  most  objectionable  features  of 
this  policy  resulted  from  the  inability  of  the  Spanish  govern 
ment  properly  to  maintain  the  people  in  the  reconcentrado 
camps,  and  its  unwillingness  to  admit  relief  from  the  United 
States. 

Negotiations  The  United  States  would  probably  have  intervened  in 
UnitecTstates  the  autumn  of  1897,  but  the  Liberal  party  in  Spain  came  to 
md  Spain.  power  under  Senor  Segasta  and  promised  to  satisfy  our 
government  if  only  time  were  given  it.  Its  intentions  seem 
to  have  been  pacific,  and  it  is  probable  that  it  desired  peace 
even  at  the  expense  of  the  cession  of  the  island  to  the  United 
States.  Spanish  public  sentiment,  however,  was  less  yield 
ing,  and  surrender  might  have  meant  the  fall  not  only  of  the 
ministry  but  of  the  dynasty.  In  January,  1898,  a  letter  of 
the  Spanish  minister  at  Washington,  Senor  de  Lome,  attack 
ing  President  McKinley,  was  made  public.  Soon  after  Sena 
tor  Proctor  of  Vermont  visited  the  island  and  reported  an 
intolerable  condition  of  affairs.  The  press  of  both  coun 
tries  continually  fanned  the  war  spirit.  In  the  midst  of 
this  high  feeling,  the  United  States  battleship  Maine  was 
sent  to  Havana,  ostensibly  on  a  friendly  visit,  but  really  to 


THE   SPANISH  WAR  489 

show  the  seriousness  of  our  intentions.  On  February  15, 
1 898,  this  vessel  was  blown  up  The  American  people  believed 
that  this  was  the  work  of  the  Spanish  government,  and 
public  sentiment  blazed  into  a  call  for  war.  On  March  27 
the  United  States  government  sent  an  ultimatum,  demanding, 
together  with  other  things,  immediate  amnesty,  to  be  followed 
by  negotiations  conducted  through  President  McKinley.  The 
Spanish  government  was  anxious  to  accede  to  these  demands, 
and  did  so  in  practically  all  points  except  putting  the  nego 
tiations  in  the  hands  of  the  President.  It,  however,  assured 
General  Woodford,  the  United  States  minister  at  Madrid, 
that  Spain  was  willing  to  make  such  terms  as  the  United 
States  demanded.  President  McKinley  still  desired  peace, 
but  Congress  was  for  war  and  was  supported  by  public  sen 
timent.  Many  of  those  well  informed  doubted  whether 
Spanish  public  sentiment  would  allow  that  government  to 
carry  out  its  promises. 

On  April  1 1  President  McKinley  sent  in  a  message  recom-  Outbreak  of 
mending  forcible  intervention.     Congress  decided  not  only  to  v 
intervene,  but  also  to  recognize  Cuban  independence,  al 
though  no  fixed  government  could  be  found  to  represent  it. 
This  recognition  afterwards  tied  the  hands  of  the  United 
States  during  the  peace  negotiations  by  preventing  annexa 
tion,  which  for  a  hundred  years  our  leading  statesmen  had 
regarded  as  the  ultimate  destiny  of  the  island.     The  action 
of  Congress  was  immediately  followed  by  war  with  Spain. 

The  war  was  quick  and  decisive.  Cuba  was  promptly  War. 
blockaded.  A  fleet  from  Spain  under  Admiral  Cervera  broke 
through  the  blockade  and  entered  Santiago.  Its  attempt  to 
leave  that  port,  however,  resulted  in  its  defeat  and  capture 
by  the  American  fleet  under  Admirals  Sampson  and  Schley 
at  the  battle  of  Santiago,  July  3.  In  the  meantime  an 
army  under  General  Shafter  had  been  landed  near  Santiago, 
a  conspicuous  portion  of  which  consisted  of  the  "  Rough 
Rider  "  regiment,  raised  by  Colonel  Roosevelt,  who  resigned 


4QO  THE  SPANISH  WAR  AND  DIPLOMACY 

his  post  as  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  take  part  in 
the  war.  On  July  17  the  city  of  Santiago  was  captured. 
A  fortnight  afterwards  an  army  under  General  Miles  began 
the  occupation  of  the  island  of  Porto  Rico.  It  happened 
that  when  the  war  broke  out,  Spain  was  contending  also 
with  a  revolution  in  the  Philippine  Islands.  An  American 
fleet  had  been  assembled  in  Asiatic  waters  under  Admiral 
Dewey,  and  on  May  i,  in  the  dashing  victory  of  Manila 
Bay,  he  destroyed  the  Spanish  fleet  operating  in  the  islands. 
American  forces  were  soon  landed,  and  in  cooperation  with 
Aguinaldo,  the  leader  of  the  Filipinos,  attacked  Manila. 
Peace.  On  July  22  Spain  indicated  her  willingness  to  treat  for 

peace.  President  McKinley  appointed  a  Peace  Commission 
headed  by  William  R.  Day  of  Ohior  who  in  April  had  been 
appointed  to  succeed  John  Sherman  as  Secretary  of  State. 
The  Commission  met  the  Spanish  commissioners  at  Paris 
and  on  December  10  a  treaty  was  signed.  Spain  relin 
quished  all  its  claims  to  Cuba,  passing  over  the  occupation 
to  the  United  States,  the  intention  of  the  United  States 
being  to  turn  the  island  over  to  its  own  revolutionary  gov 
ernment.  All  other  Spanish  possessions  in  America  were 
ceded  to  the  United  States,  together  with  Guam,  an  island 
of  the  Ladrones  group  in  the  Pacific.  In  addition  Spain 
ceded  the  Philippines  on  the  payment  of  twenty  million 
dollars.  The  cession  of  the  West  Indian  islands  was  a 
natural  result  of  the  war;  the  fate  of  Cuba  was  determined 
by  the  action  of  Congress  in  recognizing  its  independence;  the 
cession  of  Guam  to  be  used  as  a  coaling  station  was  not 
surprising;  but  the  cession  of  the  Philippines  marked  a 
new  departure  in  United  States  policy.  They  were  remote, 
were  well  populated  by  peoples  alien  in  race  and  language, 
and  could  not  be  expected  to  become  a  field  for  the  expan 
sion  of  the  American  people,  although  it  was  hoped  that 
capital  and  trade  might  find  openings  in  them.  President 
McELinley  was  in  August  undetermined  as  to  the  wisdom  of 


RESULTS  OF  THE   WAR  491 

taking  the  archipelago.  Strong  pressure,  both  religious  and 
commercial,  was  brought  to  bear,  however,  and  there  was 
a  fear  that  if  we  did  not  take  them  Germany  would.  The 
treaty  marked  a  change  in  American  policy,  not  only  in 
taking  these  islands,  but  in  providing  that  the  status  of 
their  inhabitants,  as  well  as  of  those  of  the  other  cessions, 
be  left  to  the  determination  of  Congress.  It  had  been  cus 
tomary  to  incorporate  annexed  territory  into  the  United 
States,  making  its  regular  inhabitants  citizens. 

The  future  of  these  annexed  territories  required  con-  imperialism, 
gressional  action.  The  occupation  of  Cuba  under  General 
Leonard  Wood  lasted  until  May  20,  1901,  when  the  control 
of  the  island  was  turned  over  to  its  own  government.  Cer 
tain  conditions,  however,  were  imposed  by  what  is  known 
as  the  Platt  Amendment,  which  were  incorporated  in  the 
treaty  of  1903.  These  were  intended  to  prevent  the  repub 
lic  from  falling  under  European  influences,  to]  provide  for 
the  sanitation  of  Cuban  cities,  from  which  yellow  fever 
had  so  often  spread  to  the  United  States,  and  to  secure 
naval  stations  to  the  United  States.  In  the  Philippines  the 
natives  were  as  little  willing  to  recognize  United  States  as 
Spanish  authority.  For  two  years  they  resisted  under  the 
lead  of  Aguinaldo,  and  it  was  not  until  1902  that  peace  was 
effectually  established.  In  the  meantime  Congress  had  been 
discussing  the  question  of  civil  government  for  the  various 
new  possessions.  In  1900  a  government  on  the  territorial 
plan  was  established  in  Porto  Rico.  The  Philippines  were 
left  until  1902  under  the  control  of  the  President,  who  in  1900 
appointed  Judge  William  Howard  Taft  of  Ohio  as  Governor. 
In  the  case  of  both  regions  special  tariffs  were  established, 
with  the  difference  that  Porto  Rico  was  ultimately  to  have 
free  trade  with  the  United  States,  while  in  the  case  of  the 
Philippines  duties  were  to  be  permanently  collected  on  goods 
sent  from  the  islands  to  the  United  States,  though  they 
were  lower  than  those  on  foreign  imports.  The  act  of 


4Q2 


THE   SPANISH  WAR   AND  DIPLOMACY 


1902  for  the  permanent  organization  of  the  Philippines, 
moreover,  though  it  extended  the  other  constitutional 
guarantees  of  personal  liberty  to  the  islands  and  provided 
for  a  legislative  assembly,  did  not  provide  for  jury  trial  or 
the  right  to  bear  arms.  Taking  it  as  a  whole,  therefore, 
this  legislation  placed  the  Philippines  in  the  rank  of  a  colony 
and  not  of  a  coequal  part  of  the  United  States.  The  action 
of  Congress  in  thus  making  rules  to  govern  territory  abso- 


THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  ITS  POSSESSIONS 

lutely  without  regard  for  the  restrictions  placed  on  its  power 
by  the  Constitution  was  contrary  to  the  theory  involved 
in  the  Dred  Scott  decision.  In  1001  the  Supreme  Court,  in 
what  are  known  as  the  Insular  Cases,  sustained  Congress 
and  practically  reversed  that  decision.  In  the  meantime 
the  government  was  promoting  the  development  of  the 
islands,  improving  the  sanitation  of  the  cities,  transportation, 
and  particularly  education.  So  successful  were  the  methods 
employed,  that  by  1912  English  was  as  commonly  used  as 
Spanish  had  been  previously.  In  1899  the  United  States 


UNITED   STATES  AS  A  WORLD   POWER  493 

came  into  the  possession  of  another  colony  by  an  agree 
ment  with  Great  Britain  and  Germany,  in  accordance  with 
which  the  independence  of  the  Samoan  Islands  was  abrogated 
and  the  islands  divided  between  Germany  and  the  United 
States.  In  1898  Hawaii  had  been  incorporated  into  the 
United  States  by  joint  resolution  as  in  the  case  of  Texas, 
and  numbers  of  small  islands  in  the  Pacific,  such  as  Midway 
and  Wake,  were  occupied  as  coaling  and  cable  stations. 

In  the  midst  of  these  events  came  the  election  of  1900.  Election  of 
To  many  the  adoption  of  a  colonial  policy  and  the  waging  of  I9°°' 
war  hi  the  Philippines  for  conquest  seemed  an  abandonment 
of  the  traditional  principles  of  equality  and  self-government 
upon  which  our  liberty  was  based.  They  not  only  believed 
that  the  Filipinos  should  be  let  alone  for  their  own  sake, 
but  they  feared  that  the  extension  of  the  power  of  the  execu 
tive  and  of  Congress  would  be  reflected  in  this  country.  The 
Democrats  took  up  this  attack  on  Imperialism  and  again 
nominated  Mr.  Bryan  for  the  presidency.  The  Republi 
cans  indorsed  the  policy  of  the  administration  and  renomi- 
nated  Mr.  McKinley,  joining  with  him,  as  candidate  for  the 
vice  presidency,  Colonel  Roosevelt,  whose  war  reputation 
had  already  won  him  the  governorship  of  New  York.  The 
overwhelming  success  of  President  McKinley  showed  that 
the  people  at  large  were  not  alarmed  at  the  fears  of  the 
Anti-Imperialists,  although  it  was  doubtless  in  part  due 
to  continued  distrust  of  Mr.  Bryan's  financial  views. 

The  Spanish  War  and  the  accessions  of  territory  which  Secretary 
it  brought  involved  important  changes  in  the  relations  of  the  Hay* 
United  States  with  the  rest  of  the  world.    The  diplomacy  of 
the  five  years  following  was  more  important  than  that  of  any 
other  period  after  the  annunciation  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine. 
Fortunately  the  direction  of  our  foreign  relations  at  this  time 
fell  to  a  man  probably  better  fitted  for  the  task  by  training 
and  experience  than  any  other  American  since  John  Quincy 
Adams.    John  Hay  began  his  public  life  as  private  secretary 


494  THE   SPANISH   WAR  AND   DIPLOMACY 

to  President  Lincoln.  He  had  many  years  of  experience 
abroad,  both  in  diplomatic  positions  and  as  a  private  citizen. 
President  McKinley  appointed  him-  Ambassador  to  Great 
Britain  in  1897,  and  in  1898  made  him  Secretary  of  State. 
The  holder  of  the  latter  position  is  usually  a  man  of  political 
influence,  and  serves,  under  the  President,  as  political  head 
of  the  administration.  Mr.  Hay  devoted  himself,  however, 
exclusively  to  diplomatic  affairs.  He  served  until  1905. 
Under  President  McKinley  he  had  practically  a  free  hand  in 
diplomacy.  After  the  succession  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  in  1901, 
Mr.  Hay  continued  to  shape  the  general  policy  of  the  govern 
ment,  although  the  President  assumed  the  direction  of  par 
ticular  questions. 

Attitude  of  The  emergence  of  the  United  States  as  a  world  power  at 

first  created  alarm  and  dislike  among  the  European  powers, 
with  the  exception  of  England.  France  was  heavily  inter 
ested  in  Spanish  bonds,  and  Germany  was  anxious  to  secure 
colonies  and  had  probably  expected  to  buy  the  Philippines. 
Other  countries  were  alarmed  by  the  rapid  inroads  of  Ameri 
can  trade  which  followed  the  economic  recovery  of  the  late 
nineties.  While  Americans  complained  because  the  trusts 
sold  goods  abroad  cheaper  than  at  home,  foreign  countries 
feared  that  this  "dumping"  would  destroy  their  home  in 
dustries.  New  York  began  to  be  a  market  for  foreign  bond 
issues,  and  the  financial  relations  of  Europe  and  America 
bid  fair  to  become  reversed.  The  American  "invasion"  was 
in  1898  and  1899  a  topic  for  international  conferences,  and 
it  seemed  likely  that  we  would  become  the  object  of  inter 
national  antagonism.  This  virulent  "anti- Americanism," 
however,  was  short-lived.  The  "dumping"  of  American 
products  into  the  European  markets  was  to  a  considerable  ex 
tent  a  temporary  phenomenon,  due  to  the  great  accumula 
tions  in  the  hands  of  the  trusts,  so  many  of  which  had 
been  founded  in  1898  and  1899.  Soon  American  production 
and  consumption  reached  a  better  balance,  and  the  Ameri- 


UNITED  STATES  AS   A  WORLD  POWER  495 

can  invasion  ceased  to  be  so  menacing.  Moreover,  if  the 
United  States  wished  to  play  a  part  in  world  politics,  it  was 
obviously  able  to  do  so.  It  was  better  policy  to  cultivate 
friendly  than  unfriendly  relations  with  it.  The  Emperor  of 
Germany  in  particular  fostered  this  favorable  reaction.  He 
sent  his  brother  Prince  Henry  of  Prussia  to  visit  the  United 
States  in  1902,  ordered  a  racing  yacht  to  be  built  in  America, 
which  was  christened  by  Miss  Alice  Roosevelt,  daughter  of 
President  Roosevelt,  and  made  provision  for  a  Germanic  mu 
seum  at  Harvard  University,  and  for  exchange  professorships 
between  German  and  American  universities.  France  followed, 
sending  in  1902  a  distinguished  delegation  to  assist  in  the  un 
veiling  of  a  statue  at  Washington  to  General  Rochambeau, 
commander  of  the  French  forces  in  the  American  Revolution, 
and  in  other  ways  promoting  friendly  sentiments  and 
intercourse. 

England  had  been  friendly  throughout,  welcoming  the  Position  of 
advance  into  world  politics  of  a  new  nation  of  kindred  blood  Eng  an  ' 
and  law  and  speaking  the  same  language.  Her  international 
position  was  at  the  time  described  by  Lord  Salisbury  as  one 
of  "splendid  isolation,"  but  with  the  advent  of  the  Boer 
War  in  1900  her  isolation  seemed  more  dangerous  than 
splendid.  This  cordiality  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  was  an  unusual  experience,  for  distrust  and 
bickering  had  marked  their  relations  for  the  greater  part  of 
the  time  from  the  Revolution.  It  greatly  facilitated  the 
settlement  of  outstanding  questions  between  the  two  coun 
tries,  although  in  many  cases  England  was  forced  to  insist 
strongly  upon  her  position  because  her  great  colony  Canada 
was  involved  and  would  brook  no  slighting  of  her  interests. 
English  relations,  however,  were  difficult,  for  many  in  that 
country  wished  the  friendliness  between  the  two  countries 
to  materialize  into  an  alliance,  and  there  was  danger  that 
the  United  States  might  be  drawn  from  its  traditional 
policy  of  avoiding  foreign  entanglements.  By  skillful  diplo- 


496 


THE  SPANISH  WAR   AND   DIPLOMACY 


United 
States  and 
Europe. 


macy  this  danger  was  averted,  while  at  the  same  time  many 
long-standing  problems,  such  as  the  Alaska  boundary,  were 
settled  satisfactorily. 

On  the  part  of  the  United  States  an  appreciation  of  its 
new  position  is  shown  by  the  creation  in  1897  of  the  diplo 
matic  grade  of  ambassador.  Up  to  this  time  our  highest 
representatives  abroad  had  been  ministers  plenipotentiary. 
Secretary  Hay  showed  a  disposition  to  take  part  in  all  inter 
national  conferences  for  the  discussion  of  world-wide  prob 
lems.  Particularly  the  United  States  was  conspicuous  in 
the  Hague  Conference  of  1899  for  the  promotion  of  universal 
peace,  and  in  the  formation  of  the  permanent  court  of  arbi 
tration  at  The  Hague.  This  was  no  new  policy,  for  the 
United  States  had  always  shared  in  the  discussion  of  non- 
political  international  questions,  and  had  always  been  the 
leading  advocate  of  arbitration  and  the  foremost  in  the  use 
of  it.  Its  position,  however,  was  now  more  powerful  and 
its  influence  greater.  In  a  note  of  1902  on  the  treatment 
of  Jews  in  Roumania,  Secretary  Hay  indicated  that  the 
question  of  immigration  might  give  the  United  States  the 
right  to  interfere,  or  at  least  protest,  with  regard  to  Euro 
pean  conditions.  He  did  not,  however,  press  the  matter, 
and  effectually  maintained  our  traditional  position  of  non 
intervention  in  disputes  peculiarly  European. 

United  The    corresponding    position,    that    European    powers 

PanSmerica.  should  keep  out  of  American  affairs,  was  vigorously  main 
tained.  The  most  serious  question  that  arose  concerned  the 
collection  of  debts  due  by  Spanish-American  powers  to 
Europeans.  Professor  Drago  of  Argentina  urged  the  view 
that  private  debts  should  not  be  collected  by  national  power. 
The  United  States  was  not  willing  to  support  this  doctrine, 
but  nevertheless  feared  the  effects  of  forcible  intervention 
by  European  powers.  It  used  its  influence  in  some  cases  to 
secure  payment,  in  others  to  have  claims  submitted  to  arbi 
tration,  and  in  the  case  of  the  republic  of  Santo  Domingo 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL  497 

assumed  the  administration  of  the  public  revenues  and  the 
payment  of  the  creditors.  Secretary  Hay  did  not  make 
much  progress  toward  the  creation  of  Pan-American  co 
operation.  His  successor,  Secretary  Root,  however,  inter 
ested  himself  in  this  matter,  and  Pan-American  conferences 
have  now  become  regular  and  of  increasing  importance. 

The  acquisition  of  territory  in  the  Pacific  rendered  the  The  inter 
necessity  for  an  interoceanic  canal  more  pressing.  A  fleet 
might  be  needed  in  either  ocean ;  without  a  canal  two  fleets 
would  be  required.  Secretary  Hay  preferred  a  canal  con 
structed  under  international  guarantee,  but  the  demand  for 
an  American  canal  had  grown  to  be  insistent.  In  1901  he 
negotiated  a  new  treaty  with  Great  Britain  to  take  the 
place  of  the  Clayton-Bulwer  treaty,  which  would  allow  an 
.American  canal,  provided  that  equal  rates  be  charged  the 
vessels  of  all  nations.  It  had  by  this  time  become  evident 
that  the  building  of  the  canal  was  too  great  a  task  for 
a  private  corporation,  and  Congress  finally  decided  to  un 
dertake  it.  In  the  meantime  the  question  of  location  arose. 
A  long  contest  between  the  advocates  of  the  Panama  and 
Nicaragua  routes  resulted  in  the  Spooner  Act  of  1902,  which 
authorized  the  President  to  arrange  with  the  old  French 
company,  which  had  begun  work  but  had  abandoned  it, 
and  with  Colombia  for  the  Panama  route,  if  he  could  do 
so  "within  a  reasonable  time  and  upon  reasonable  terms," 
but  otherwise  to  accept  the  offer  of  Nicaragua.  President 
Roosevelt  bought  out  the  French  company  for  $40,000,000, 
but  Colombia  refused  to  ratify  the  Hay-Herran  treaty  which 
had  been  drawn  up  at  Washington,  and  which  accorded 
privileges  to  the  United  States.  President  Roosevelt  with 
drew  our  representative  at  Bogota,  July  9,  1903,  and  pre 
pared  to  insist  on  our  rights  to  construct  the  canal  under 
the  treaty  of  1846.  On  November  3,  however,  the  province 
of  Panama  revolted  from  Colombia.  It  was  promptly  recog 
nized  as  independent  by  the  United  States  and  it  as  promptly 


498  THE  SPANISH  WAR  AND   DIPLOMACY 

granted  the  United  States  all  the  latter  required,  including  a 
ten-mile  strip  of  territory  from  ocean  to  ocean,  for  which  the 
United  States  was  to  pay  ten  million  dollars  in  cash,  and, 
after  1912,  a  quarter  of  a  million  a  year.  The  interna 
tional  difficulties  in  the  way  of  canal  construction,  therefore, 
were  cleared  away,  and  the  work  of  sanitation  in  the  canal 
zone  and  of  actual  construction  was  begun. 

The  Far  ^he  Pac^0  an^  the  Far  East  did  not  fall  within  the  scope 

East.  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine.     In  that  region  the  United  States 

and  the  great  world  powers  met  on  equal  terms,  and  Secre 
tary  Hay  not  only  assumed  an  equal  interest  with  England^ 
France,  Russia,  Germany,  and  Japan,  in  the  "concert  of 
powers,"  but  also  in  some  respects  the  leadership.  In  1900 
the  United  States  cooperated  with  the  other  powers  in  deal 
ing  with  the  Boxer  outbreak  against  foreigners  in  China* 
Secretary  Hay  also  secured  assent,  at  least  professed,  to  the 
"open  door"  policy  of  allowing  all  nations  equal  commercial 
privileges  in  colonies,  protectorates,  zones  of  influence,  and 
especially  in  China.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Russo-Japanese 
war  he  secured  the  restriction  of  hostilities  to  a  specified 
area,  and  obtained  guarantees  of  the  territorial  integrity  and 
independence  of  China.  The  war  was,  moreover,  brought 
to  a  close  at  the  suggestion  of  President  Roosevelt.  During 
all  this  period,  in  spite  of  real  difficulties  due  to  our  desire  to 
restrict  the  immigration  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  and  the 
sensitiveness  of  their  governments  to  discrimination,  and 
difficulties  less  real  arising  from  the  fear  of  the  "Yellow 
Peril,"  friendly  relations  were  maintained  with  China  and 
Japan.  No  one  can  doubt  that  the  United  States  has 
acquired  a  permanent  interest  in  eastern  Asia  and  that 
American  capital  and  enterprise  will  share  in  the  awakening 
of  that  continent.  By  1905,  therefore,  most  of  the  difficult 
problems  existing  in  1898  had  been  solved,  and  new  policies 
had  been  outlined  to  meet  the  questions  arising  from  the 
Spanish  War. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  499 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

Macdonald,  Select  Documents,  nos.  109-129.  Harrison,  B.,  Sources. 
Views  of  an  Ex-President,  185-272.  Howe,  A.  H.,  Insular  Cases 
(House  Exec.  Doc.,  56  cong.,  2  sess.,  no.  509).  Thayer,  J.  B.,  Our 
New  Possessions.  Schurz,  Carl,  Speeches,  Correspondence,  and 
Political  Papers,  6  vols.  From  1860  to  1904  he  delivered  a  speech 
or  wrote  a  letter  in  each  presidential  campaign,  summarizing  the 
issues,  and  presenting  one  side  very  strongly. 

Latane",  J.  H.,  America  as  a  World  Power.  Bancroft,  Seward,  Historical 
II,  ch.  XLII.  Henderson,  J.  B.,  American  Diplomatic  Questions,  accounts- 
137-208.  Benton,  E.  J.,  International  Law  and  Diplomacy  of  tJie 
Spanish  American  War.  Chad  wick,  F.  E.,  Relations  of  the  United 
States  and  Spain.  Coolidge,  A.  C.,  The  United  States  as  a  World 
Power.  Fish,  C.  R.,  The  Path  of  Empire,  vol.  47  of  Chronicles  of 
America.  Latane,  J.  H.,  Diplomatic  Relations  between  the  United 
States  and  Spanish  America.  McLaughlin,  J.  L.,  and  Willis,  H.  P., 
Reciprocity.  Reinsch,  P.  S.,  World  Politics.  Sargent,  H.  H., 
The  Campaign  of  Santiago  de  Cuba.  Taussig,  Tariff  History,  251- 
409.  Thayer,  W.  R.,  John  Hay. 

Elliott,  C.  B.,  The  Philippines.    Jones,  C.  L.,  Caribbean  In-  Dependen- 
terests  of  the  United  States.    Le  Roy,  J.  A.,  The  Americans  in  the  des- 
Philippines. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 
INDUSTRIAL  AND   SOCIAL   CHANGES 

THE  practical  elimination  of  the  currency  question  from 
politics  by  the  election  of  1896,  with  the  adoption  of  the  gold 
standard  in  1900,  and  the  sudden  expansion  of  United  States 
interests  beyond  its  borders,  which  have  been  the  main  topics 
of  the  last  two  chapters,  prepared  the  way  for  a  new  epoch  of 
development.  They  were,  however,  rather  the  symptoms 
than  the  causes  of  change.  In  order  to  understand  thoroughly 
how  they  and  other  political  conditions  came  about,  it  is 
necessary  to  observe  the  manner  in  which  the  United  States 
was  growing. 

Growth  of  In  1870  the  total  population  of  the  United  States  was 

the  North/0  about  thirty-eight  and  a  half  million;  in  1910  it  was  over 
ninety-one  million,  excluding  that  of  the  colonies.  About 
twenty-four  millions  of  this  increase  was  in  the  states  north 
of  the  Mason-Dixon  line  and  the  Ohio,  and  east  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  with  Iowa.  In  this  region  the  increase  amounted  to 
about  one  hundred  and  ten  per  cent;  the  additional  popula 
tion  was  occupied  for  the  most  part  in  manufacturing,  mining, 
transportation,  and  commerce,  and  lived  in  urban  communi 
ties.  Although  agricultural  productions  doubled,  the  popula 
tion  of  purely  agricultural  regions  was  generally  stationary, 
and  often  declined.  The  rapid  extension  of  the  use  of  agri 
cultural  machinery  after  1870  enabled  the  farmer  to  dispense 
with  some  labor.  The  manufacture  of  farm  products,  such 
as  flour  milling  and  meat  packing,  became  concentrated  in 
large  cities.  The  growth  of  railroads  and,  after  1900,  the  use 
of  automobiles  tended  to  centralize  farm  trade  at  favorably 
located  towns  from  thirty  to  fifty  miles  apart,  stunting  the 

500 


POPULATION  501 

intermediate  towns.  The  states  in  this  group  showing  the 
greatest  increase  were :  those  devoted  to  general  manufactur 
ing,  like  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey,  and  Penn 
sylvania;  states  not  fully  developed  in  1870,  like  Michigan, 
Wisconsin,  and  Iowa ;  and  New  York  and  Illinois,  contain 
ing  the  great  cities  of  New  York  and  Chicago. 

The  former  slave  states,  excluding  Florida,  Texas,  and  Growth  of 
Arkansas,  gained  about  twelve  million,  or  one  hundred  per  the  South! " 
cent.  In  certain  districts,  particularly  in  West  Virginia  and 
on  the  southern. and  eastern  slopes  of  the  mountains,  iron 
mines  and  iron  and  cotton  mills  had  come  to  employ  tens  of 
thousands,  but  the  great  bulk  of  the  increased  population 
was  engaged  in  agriculture.  The  cotton  crop  increased  about 
fourfold,  and  machinery  was  able  to  do  little  to  lessen  the 
labor  of  its  production,  while  other  crops  had  come  to  be 
raised  much  more  extensively  than  before.  While  the  aver 
age  yield  per  acre  increased,  to  a  still  greater  extent  the  growth 
in  production  represented  the  occupation  of  the  waste  spaces, 
so  abundant  in  the  South  during  the  plantation  era. 

The  remaining  seventeen  millions  of  increase,  pouring  Expansion 
into  the  outlying  areas,  expanded  their  population  almost 
six  hundred  per  cent.  Their  task  was  the  familiar  American 
one  of  extending  the  frontier  and  subduing  the  wilderness 
to  civilization.  They  pressed  agriculture  to  and  beyond  the 
western  boundary  of  sufficient  rainfall,  about  the  hundredth 
meridian,  recoiling  in  the  nineties  before  a  succession  of  dry 
years  which  caused  much  of  the  distress  from  which  arose 
the  Populist  movement.  Sheep  ranches  drove  before  them 
the  cattle  from  the  ranges  between  the  hundredth  meridian 
and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  farms  encroached  upon  the 
sheep  ranches.  In  the  mountains,  miners  and  capitalists 
from  the  East  met  those  from  the  Pacific  coast,  uniting  the 
two  frontiers.  The  Indians,  not  without  fighting,  were  first 
confined  within  reservations,  and  later  these  reservations 
were  contracted  in  size  and  subdivided.  By  1910  the  tribal 


S°2 


INDUSTRIAL   AND   SOCIAL   CHANGES 


Disappear 
ance  of  the 
frontier.  „ 


Conserva 
tion. 


holdings  of  the  Indians  had  been  practically  eliminated.  In 
fact,  it  may  be  said  that  by  1900  the  primary  exploitation 
of  the  surface  of  the  United  States  was  complete ;  by  1910  the 
first  wave  was  being  deflected  northward  into  Canada.  By 
1912  all  the  continental  area  of  the  United  States,  except 
Alaska,  had  been  admitted  to  statehood,  Utah  in  1896, 
Oklahoma  in  1907,  and  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  in  1912, 
completing  the  list  of  the  states,  forty-eight  in  all. 

The  existence  of  the  frontier  had  been  the  distinguishing 
feature  of  American  history.  Its  conquest,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  regions  like  semiarid  Utah,  had  been  the  work 
of  individuals,  and  it  had  offered  continuously  an  oppor 
tunity  to  the  individual  for  economic  independence.  Its 
spirit  of  individualism  had  permeated  the  political  as  well  as 
the  economic  life  of  the  whole  nation.  Land  was  always 
available  throughout  the  country.  When  the  pioneer  ad 
ventured  into  the  wilderness,  he  sold  the  farm  he  had  broken, 
often  to  some  farmer  from  a  still  older  region,  who  in  turn  sold 
his  well-developed  acres  to  some  one  with  capital  and  the 
desire  for  a  settled  life.  Landownership  was  always  shifting 
and  land  opportunity  was  always  open.  Other  industries 
had  to  offer  high  rewards  to  prevent  men  from  taking  ad 
vantage  of  the  situation  and  becoming  landowners.  When 
the  front  rank  found  its  advance  barred,  the  recoil  was  felt 
through  the  whole  body  politic  ;  the  whole  nation  had  to  re 
adjust  itself  to  new  conditions. 

Realization  came  promptly.  Up  to  1900  the  country 
exulted  in  its  strength  and  its  limitless  resources.  By  1910, 
it  had  come  to  dread  the  exhaustion  of  its  natural  resources 
and  a  well- developed  movement  for  conservation  was  in 
progress.  More  careful  attention  to  the  soil  was  urged,  in 
order  that  the  fertility  which  for  many  years  had  been  reck 
lessly  exploited  might  be  restored  by  scientific  farming. 
"Dry  farming"  was  developed,  in  order  that  crops  might  be 
raised  in  the  semiarid  areas.  Irrigation  was  undertaken  by 


CONSERVATION  503 

private  enterprise,  and  extended  by  vast  government  projects, 
to  open  up  the  arid  sections.  Experimenters,  like  Luther 
Burbank  of  California,  worked  to  discover  plants  that  would 
grow  in  the  unirrigated  deserts.  It  was  found  that  the  enor 
mous  forests  of  the  country  had  been  dangerously  reduced, 
not  only  by  careless  cutting,  which  took  no  thought  of  re 
placement,  but  by  fires  lit  by  sparks  from  railroad  engines 
and  other  causes.  The  country  was  threatened,  not  only  with 
lack  of  lumber,  but  with  alternate  flood  and  drought,  owing 
to  the  deforestation  of  the  regions  in  which  the  rivers  rose. 
Geologists  pointed  out  that  the  supplies  of  coal  and  iron 
were  not  limitless  and  that  water  power  should  be  developed 
and  preserved  to  take  their  place.  To  meet  this  situation  the 
national  government,  state  governments,  and  great  corpora 
tions  like  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  established  forest  re 
serves.  The  total  reserves  of  the  national  government  by 
1910  amounted  to  about  three  hundred  thousand  square 
miles.  A  National  Forest  Service  was  begun  in  1898,  and 
states  and  corporations  followed  in  the  scientific  study  of 
forest  problems,  the  promotion  of  forest  growth,  the  preven 
tion  of  forest  waste,  and  the  preservation  of  forests  about  the 
river  heads.  The  use  of  cement  as  a  substitute  for  wood  and 
iron  has  somewhat  lessened  the  demands  upon  the  forests. 
Less  directly  connected  with  the  movement,  but  practically 
bearing  upon  it,  has  been  the  development  of  electricity. 
By  this  means  water  power  has  been  made  available  for 
many  new  purposes,  and  can  be  transmitted  over  long  dis 
tances.  Thomas  Edison  and  many  others  are  at  present 
engaged  in  experiments  for  the  production  of  a  more  perfect 
storage  battery  which  would  render  electricity  still  more  use 
ful,  and  enable  civilization  to  employ  the  forces  of  the  wind. 

Not  only  was  there  alarm  lest  resources  should  be  ex-  Control  of 
hausted,  but  also  over  their  ownership  and  employment.   While  resources- 
the  public  believed  that  the  natural  resources  were  without 
limit,  it  was  not  a  matter  of  active  concern  how  much  was 


504  INDUSTRIAL   AND   SOCIAL   CHANGES 

secured  by  any  person  or  group  of  persons.  When  it  came  to 
be  realized  that  all  the  anthracite  coal  in  the  country  lay  in 
one  small  district,  the  public  became  interested  in  its  owner 
ship.  It  was  discovered  that  a  very  large  amount  of  the 
natural  resources  upon  which  the  future  must  depend  were 
held  by  a  comparatively  small  number  of  individuals  and 
corporations.  Thus  a  large  proportion  of  the  timber  of  the 
country  was  held  by  the  Pacific  railroads  and  the  Weyer- 
hauser  companies.  Hence  there  arose  a  demand  that  the  re 
maining  resources  be  administered  primarily  for  the  benefit  of 
the  public  and  that  some  control  be  exercised  over  the  use 
of  those  already  in  private  hands.  Thus  the  conservation 
movement  became  a  political  issue. 

Specialized  The  new  task  before  the  nation,  the  study  and  the  eco 

nomical  utilization  of  its  resources,  demanded  a  new  kind  of 
training.  The  old  type  of  self-sufficing  "  Jack-of-all- trades" 
which  had  been  required  in  the  days  when  men  must  shift 
for  themselves  and  be  independent  of  their  neighbors,  must 
give  way  to  the  expert  trained  to  do  some  one  thing  extremely 
well,  and  willing  to  work  in  cooperation  with  others  and  under 
direction.  The  great  rewards  would  go  to  those  who  had  the 
ability  to  organize  the  services  of  others.  Specialized  edu 
cation  became  necessary  to  furnish  experts  required  by  the 
national  economy,  and  education  must  be  freely  offered  to  the 
masses  if  they  were  to  continue  to  enjoy  that  equality  of 
opportunity  which  the  free  bounty  of  nature  no  longer  af 
forded.  The  problem  of  education  was  no  longer  merely  to 
give  inspiration  and  a  mental  training  for  life  in  general,  but 
it  must  give  also  fitting  for  some  special  walk  in  life.  To 
the  old  professions  must  be  added  a  list  of  new.  To  retain 
the  old  spirit  of  education,  while  making  an  adjustment  to 
this  new  need,  gave  rise  to  problems  of  the  utmost  delicacy 
and  difficulty.  The  institutions  of  the  higher  education, 
especially  the  universities  maintained  by  the  various  states, 
have  responded  quickly  to  this  call.  Schools  and  colleges  of 


NEW  POLITICAL  IDEALS  505 

agriculture,  mining,  engineering,  forestry,  commerce,  chem 
istry,  and  many  other  subjects  turn  out  each  year  experts 
who  are  speedily  absorbed  into  the  work  of  the  country  and 
raise  the  level  of  its  economic  efficiency.  On  the  whole  the 
lower  schools  have  adjusted  themselves  less  easily.  Manual 
training  and  technical  high  schools,  and  in  some  cities  high 
schools  to  fit  for  some  special  occupation,  as  textile  work, 
have  been  founded.  Still,  skilled  and  educated  laborers  are 
not  relatively  as  numerous  as  scientific  experts.  To  meet 
this  need  "  continuation "  schools  are  being  established, 
where  instruction  is  given  to  those  who  have  already  begun 
their  life's  work. 

With  this  change  in  the  character  of  American  society,  The  expert 
there  came,  naturally,  a  tendency  towards  a  change  in  po-  Jffepub 
litkal  ideals.  American  democracy,  as  it  found  expression 
in  the  philosophy  of  Jefferson,  desired  individual  liberty. 
It  looked  upon  government  as  a  means  of  perfecting  that 
liberty,  by  protecting  the  individual.  Jacksonian  democracy 
preserved  a  strong  love  of  individual  liberty,  but  it  laid  more 
stress  on  the  idea  of  equality,  acting  on  the  supposition  that 
all  men  were  of  much  the  same  ability  and  could  and  should 
be  equally  trusted  with  the  affairs  as  well  of  government  as 
of  business.  There  was  a  growing  tendency,  moreover,  to 
insist  upon  the  right  of  the  majority  to  do  what  it  liked. 
This  latter  tendency  has  grown  steadily  stronger  since  the 
Civil  War.  Year  by  year  the  majority  has  shown  more  dispo 
sition  to  regulate  the  life  of  the  community  for  its  own  good. 
It  is  somewhat  the  old  New  England  idea  that  man  should 
have  liberty  to  do  that  which  is  good,  that  is,  as  now  inter 
preted,  what  is  good  in  the  eyes  of  the  majority.  It  is  also 
connected  with  a  trend  of  thought  among  European  peoples 
toward  state  socialism.  In  part  a  reaction  against  the  ex 
treme  laissez  faire  doctrines  of  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  exhibited  only  as  a  tendency  to  favor  particu 
lar  measures,  it  has  become  for  many  a  definite  program, 


506  INDUSTRIAL  AND   SOCIAL  CHANGES 

and  in  1912  a  Socialist  party  cast  over  eight  hundred  thousand 
votes  for  Eugene  Debs,  its  candidate  for  the  presidency.  At 
the  same  time  there  has  developed  the  feeling  that  the  real 
democratic  equality  is  equality  of  opportunity,  not  the  insist 
ence  on  equality  of  ability.  As  the  functions  of  government 
have  increased,  there  has  been  an  increasing  willingness  to 
trust  their  execution  to  those  specially  trained  for  the  work. 
Democracy  has  become  willing  to  carry  out  its  purpose 
through  experts. 

Conditions  Two  movements  have,  therefore,  marked  the  advance  of 

o  ange.  democracy  during  this  period,  especially  from  1890  to  1910; 
one  that  for  the  more  direct  control  of  government  by  the 
majority,  the  other  for  the  employment  of  specialists.  Both 
these  movements  have  found  expression  more  easily  in  the 
case  of  state  governments  than  in  the  case  of  that  of  the 
nation.  The  American  state  system  gives  an  ideal  oppor 
tunity  for  experiment.  One  state  may  try  a  suggested  plan  ; 
failure  means  but  a  restricted  loss,  and  success  serves  to  stim 
ulate  others  to  adopt  similar  measures.  This  has  had  a 
corresponding  disadvantage  in  the  fact  that  state  laws  on 
similar  subjects  differ,  creating  great  confusion,  particularly 
in  the  case  of  the  laws  of  marriage  and  divorce.  Of  late, 
however,  there  has  been  a  tendency  for  the  states  to  keep  in 
touch  and  consciously  to  profit  by  each  other's  experience. 
Legislative  reference  libraries  keep  the  legislators  informed 
of  what  is  being  done  elsewhere,  and,  since  1908,  the  governors 
of  the  several  states  have  met  regularly  to  discuss  public 
policy.  The  field  for  experimental  observation  in  govern 
ment,  moreover,  has  not  been  confined  to  the  United  States. 
Travel,  study  in  European  universities,  and  the  growing 
intimacy  of  relationships  throughout  the  world  resulting 
from  improved  facilities  of  communication  have  rubbed  off 
much  American  provincialism.  We  no  longer  regard  our 
selves  as  a  peculiar  people,  as  in  fact  we  are  less  so  than  before 
the  disappearance  of  the  frontier.  There  has  been,  therefore, 


PROBLEMS  IN  GOVERNMENT  507 

an  increasing  willingness  to  profit  by  the  experience  of  others, 
particularly  by  that  of  Australia  and  New  Zealand. 

The  movement  for  direct  control  of  the  government  by  Direct 
the  people  has  included  laws  to  control  party  machinery  and  gov< 
constitutional  changes  to  place  legislation  more  closely  in 
the  hands  of  the  people.  Nearly  all  states  have  regulated, 
some  more,  some  less  completely,  the  primaries  by  which  the 
various  parties  select  their  candidates.  Several  states  have 
provided  that  election  expenses  must  be  made  public,  and 
some  have  limited  their  amount.  To  prevent  undue  influ 
ence  being  brought  to  bear  upon  members  of  the  legislature, 
some  states  have  forbidden  lobbyists  and  some  provided  that 
they  must  be  registered.  In  Oregon  and  some  other  states 
most  of  them  western,  the  initiative  and  referendum  of  laws, 
and  the  recall  of  public  officials,  by  popular  vote  to  be  taken 
upon  petition,  have  been  provided,  and  the  question  as  to 
the  advisability  of  such  legislation  has  become  everywhere 
an  issue.  A  movement  for  woman's  suffrage  arising  during 
the  anti-slavery  struggle  began  now  to  take  effect.  Massa 
chusetts  and  many  other  states  allowed  women  to  vote  on 
educational  matters.  Wyoming  from  its  admission  in  1890 
included  them  in  the  general  electorate.  Fifteen  other  states 
followed  this  example  before  the  question  was  settled  for  all 
by  the  federal  Nineteenth  Amendment  in  1920. 

While  nearly  all  state  constitutions  have  been  largely 
made  over  by  substitution  or  amendment,  all  attempts  to 
change  the  national  constitution  were  unsuccessful  until 
1913.  The  changes  then  made,  which  will  be  noted  later, 
were  not  extensive,  and  it  remains  the  oldest  working  frame 
of  government  in  the  world,  and,  interpreted  by  the  court 
decisions  of  over  one  hundred  and  twenty  years,  sometimes 
acts  as  a  bar  to  popular  wishes.  Nevertheless  there  has  been 
no  large  movement  to  change  it,  except  by  a  few  amend 
ments  which  do  not  provide  for  direct  government.  Instead 
there  has  grown  up  a  demand  that  the  courts  interpret  it  liber- 


508  INDUSTRIAL  AND   SOCIAL  CHANGES 

ally  to  meet  modern  conditions,  and,  in  order  to  bring  the 
courts  under  popular  control,  it  has  been  proposed  that 
judges  be  subject  to  recall,  or  that  decisions  of  the  courts, 
in  cases  involving  constitutional  interpretation,  be  liable  to 
reversal  by  popular  vote. 

Commission  The  movement  for  the  employment  of  specialists  has 
government.  founcj  j^s  most  active  expression  in  the  experiments  with  the 
commission  form  of  government.  Commissions  of  all  kinds 
and  dealing  with  all  varieties  of  questions  have  been  largely 
and  increasingly  used.  Some  have  merely  powers  of  inves 
tigation.  This  has  been  true  of  national  commissions  such 
as  the  Tariff  Commission,  authorized  by  the  Payne-Aldrich 
tariff  bill  of  1909,  to  study  the  relative  conditions  of  produc 
tion  in  this  country  and  elsewhere,  with  a  view  to  determin 
ing  the  tariff  rates  necessary  to  equalize  them,  and  the 
Aldrich  Monetary  Commission,  appointed  to  study  the  whole 
question  of  finance  and  to  report  a  plan  for  the  reorgani 
zation  of  the  national  banking  and  currency  laws.  Some 
have  administrative  powers,  as  the  park  commissions  in 
Massachusetts  and  other  states.  Wisconsin  has  led  tjie  way 
in  the  employment  of  commissions  which  combine  powers  of 
investigation  with  administrative  and  semi-judicial  powers. 
The  Rate  Commission  of  that  state  constantly  passes 
upon  questions  which  are  really  judicial.  Its  decisions  are 
theoretically  subject  to  review  by  the  courts,  but  practi 
cally  have  proved  final.  Commissions  with  legislative 
power  have  been  created  for  the  government  of  cities. 
The  first  to  attract  attention  was  that  which  was  given 
control  of  Calves  ton  after  the  practical  destruction  of 
that  city  by  the  devastating  tidal  wave  of  1900.  Its  success 
in  meeting  the  situation  aroused  general  public  interest,  and 
many  cities  have  adopted  the  method  of  giving  to  a  small 
elective  commission  the  powers  previously  exercised  by  the 
larger  councils.  The  idea  underlying  the  administrative  com 
missions  has  been  that  of  confiding  to  experts,  chosen  with 


ECONOMIC  LEGISLATION  509 

as  little  relation  to  politics  as  possible,  the  task  of  collecting 
information  and  performing  non-political  acts.  The  direc 
tion  of  public  policy  has  been  retained  under  public  control 
and  the  commissions  are  responsible  to  the  public.  In  most 
cases  they  are  appointed  and  are  removable  by  the  executive 
authority ;  the  city  commissions  are  elected  and  are  gener 
ally  subject  to  recall.  Moreover,  the  generally  reliable 
character  of  the  reports  which  they  present  affords  a  more 
substantial  basis  upon  which  an  intelligent  public  opinion 
can  be  built  up,  than  has  previously  existed,  and  the  method 
in  general  makes  the  public  will  more  speedily  operative 
than  heretofore. 

The  popular  will,~thus  made  effective,  has  sought  both  Economic 
to  curb  the  powers  of  corporations  and  to  regulate  the  life 
of  the  individual.  At  the  beginning  of  the  period,  corpo 
rations,  deathless  and  powerful,  and  in  many  cases  practically 
holding  monopolies  of  their  respective  fields  of  business, 
enjoyed  nearly  all  the  advantages  of  individual  liberty  secured 
to  the  people  by  our  form  of  government.  In  a  field  of  free 
competition  they  seemed  to  be  the  strongest,  if  not  the  fittest, 
who  were  the  most  apt  to  survive.  During  the  past  twenty 
years  their  powers  have  been  steadily  curtailed.  Laws  pro 
hibiting  railroads  from  giving  passes  have  somewhat  dimin 
ished  their  influence  on  public  opinion,  while  rate  commissions, 
by  making  rates  equal  to  all  users,  have  prevented  special 
bargains  by  which  railroads  had  been  able  to  control  shippers 
and  vice  versa.  Public  utilities  commissions,  like  those  of 
New  York  and  Wisconsin,  have  the  power  to  see  that  all 
corporations  serving  the  public  perform  their  duties  satis 
factorily  to  the  public.  New  systems  of  taxation  have  been 
devised,  forcing  corporations  to  contribute  at  least  their 
share  of  the  public  expenses.  Revelations  of  the  scandalous 
conduct  of  certain  insurance  companies  have  brought  almost 
universally  laws  for  their  control.  The  effect  of  these  state 
regulative  measures  has  been  much  greater  than  that  of  the 


INDUSTRIAL   AND   SOCIAL   CHANGES 


Social  legis 
lation. 


The  foreign- 
born. 


national  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Law,  and  they  have  much 
aided  in  the  work  of  the  national  Interstate  Commerce  Com 
mission,  but  they  probably  represent  only  a  broaching  of  the 
problem. 

Along  the  line  of  social  control,  laws  have  been  passed 
regulating  smoking  and  drinking,  for  the  supervision  of  con 
ditions  in  factories,  limiting  the  employment  of  women  and 
children,  and  for  compulsory  education.  Newer  in  concep 
tion  is  the  assumption  by  the  states  of  the  war  against  dis 
ease,  particularly  tuberculosis,  and  the  provision  for  state 
parks.  There  is  some  tendency  for  the  states  to  assume 
active  control  of  the  police,  in  order  to  carry  out  these  and 
other  measures,  the  authority  for  which  rests  chiefly  on  the 
police  power.  State  assumption  of  power  has  not,  however, 
diminished  the  activity  of  the  municipal  governments,  any 
more  than  the  increase  of  federal  functions  had  reduced  that 
of  the  states.  Increasing  density  of  population,  its  growing 
diversity,  inequalities  in  wealth,  decadence  of  certain  social 
groups,  the  weakening  influence  of  the  home  upon  children, 
and  the  thickening  problems  of  an  aging  civilization 
demand  always  more  control  by  law,  more  sacrifice  of  indi 
vidual  liberty  for  the  common  good;  and,  with  a  rather  re 
markable  adaptability,  the  American  people  have  shown  a 
prompt  appreciation  of  this  necessity  and  a  willingness  to 
change  the  form  of  their  democracy  in  the  hope  of  preserving 
its  essence. 

While  these  changes  in  the  methods  and  purposes  of 
government  were  taking  place,  the  composition  of  the  popu 
lation  was  also  undergoing  change.  In  the  decade  between 
1870  and  1880  immigration  amounted  to  over  two  million 
eight  hundred  thousand,  in  the  next  to  five  million  two  hun 
dred  thousand,  in  the  next  to  three  million  six  hundred  thou 
sand,  and  between  1900  and  1910  to  almost  eight  million  eight 
hundred  thousand.  These  totals  do  not  accurately  represent 
the  increase  in  foreign  population,  because  many  immigrants 


IMMIGRATION  511 

return  to  their  native  countries ;  but  in  1900  the  population 
born  abroad  or  of  foreign  parents  was  twenty  million  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-nine  thousand.  Only  six  hundred  thou 
sand  of  this  foreign  population  lived  in  the  South,  and  half 
that  number  were  in  the  single  state  of  Texas.  About 
fourteen  and  a  half  million  consisted  of  English,  German, 
Irish,  and  Scotch,  which  nationalities  have  been  coming  to 
America  from  the  beginning,  and  form  the  basis  of  the  Amer 
ican  stock.  A  newer  element  was  that  from  the  Scandi 
navian  countries.  More  than  half  the  nine  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  thousand  Swedes  were  in  Minnesota  and  Illinois. 
The  Norwegians  numbered  six  hundred  and  eighty-four 
thousand,  and  were  for  the  most  part  farmers  in  Minnesota 
and  Wisconsin.  Two  hundred  and  sixty-six  thousand  Danes 
were  scattered  through  the  middle  parts  of  western  states, 
and  Finns  and  Icelanders  were  fairly  numerous  along  the 
northern  border.  These  Scandinavians,  like  the  British 
and  Germans,  were  fitted  by  similarity  of  racial  charac 
teristics  and  political  training  to  assimilate  quickly  the  more 
fundamental  American  traditions. 

More  than  three  and  a  half  million  of  the  foreign-born  in  Immigration 
1900  consisted  of  more  alien  elements,  and  they  constituted  elements, 
the  greater  proportion  of  the  immigration  of  the  next  ten 
years.  The  French  Canadian  element  in  1900  amounted 
to  six  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand,  two  thirds  of  whom 
were  in  New  England.  They  lived,  for  the  most  part, 
in  groups  of  their  own,  about  the  cotton  mills  in  which 
they  worked,  and,  with  some  notable  exceptions,  took  little 
part  in  the  general  life  of  the  community.  The  mines  of 
Pennsylvania  drew  many  Hungarians,  who  proved  to  be  a 
turbulent  element,  often  disturbing  the  public  peace.  On  the 
Pacific  Chinese  immigration  became  important  from  the  time 
of  the  discovery  of  gold.  Popular  prejudice  against  the 
Chinese  was  strong,  not  only  because  of  their  alien  mode  of 
life,  but  also  because  of  the  low  standard  of  wages  they  were 


512  INDUSTRIAL  AND  SOCIAL  CHANGES 

willing  to  accept;  and  the  question  of  their  immigration 
dominated  California  politics  during  the  seventies.  With 
the  passage  of  the  Chinese  Exclusion  Bill  of  1881,  the  question 
became  less  politically  acute.  The  immigration  of  Chinese 
laborers  has  been,  on  the  whole,  prevented  since  that  time, 
but  those  in  the  country  constitute  an  element  which  has 
proved  as  yet  not  assimilable.  A  somewhat  similar  problem 
was  presented  early  in  the  twentieth  century  by  the  immigra 
tion  of  Japanese,  but  under  President  Roosevelt  an  arrange 
ment  was  reached  with  the  Japanese  government  which 
limited  this  movement,  in  the  meantime  the  cities  and 
factories  throughout  the  country  were  becoming  crowded 
with  Russians,  Jew  and  Gentile,  Italians,  Poles,  Bohemians, 
Austrians,  and  Greeks.  Where  these  foreigners  reached  the 
soil,  with  the  exception  of  the  Chinese,  they  speedily  became 
a  part  of  the  community ;  intermarriage  was  frequent  and 
lines  of  nationality  tended  to  disappear.  In  the  cities,  how 
ever,  they  were  inclined  to  live  in  separate  quarters  and  to 
preserve  their  characteristics. 

New  condi-  Much  of  the  immigration  since  1880  has  been  of  what 

migration*1"  may  be  called  an  unnatural  character.  The  enforced  immi 
gration  of  slaves  has  been  prohibited  since  1808,  the  importa 
tion  of  coolies  since  the  Civil  War,  and  of  laborers  under 
contract  since  1888 ;  Chinese  and  Japanese  have  also  been 
excluded.  But  the  road  to  America  has  been  made  so  easy 
that  it  no  longer  requires  any  special  fortitude  and  courage 
to  make  the  transit.  The  conditions  which  previously  in 
sured  that  the  voluntary  immigrant  to  America  was  possessed 
of  some  special  qualities  fitting  him  for  success  have  ceased 
to  operate.  In  fact  the  highly  colored  accounts  spread 
broadcast  through  the  discontented  districts  of  Europe  by 
competing  steamship  companies  have  tended  to  draw  over 
many  who  are  merely  weakly  restless  and  inefficient.  These 
feebler  newcomers  are  welcomed  by  those  great  employing 
interests  whose  factories  and  mines  require  little  intelligence 


IMMIGRATION  PROBLEMS  513 

from  the  laborer,  and  who  are  glad  to  supplant  the  highly 
paid  and  independent  native  workmen.  In  many  cities, 
particularly  in  New  England,  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania, 
these  underpaid  and  unenlightened  unfortunates  live  in  social 
conditions  from  which  America  has  previously  been  spared, 
separated  as  completely  from  the  native  population  as  if 
inhabitants  of  a  different  century.  When  the  natural  revolt 
against  these  conditions  takes  place,  it  assumes  a  more  dan 
gerous  and  revolutionary  character  than  earlier  disputes 
between  capital  and  labor.  The  most  significant  attempt  to 
organize  this  class  has  been  that  of  the  Industrial  Workers 
of  the  World,  and  the  most  important  crisis  which  has  occurred 
has  been  that  produced  by  the  Lowell  strike  of  1912. 

The  enormous  amount  of  immigration  and  its  changing  Problems  of 
character  attracted  wide  attention,  but  led  to  little  direct  born?16' 
public  effort.  The  activity  of  the  national  government  has 
been  limited  to  preventing  the  coming  of  Chinese  and  Jap 
anese,  and  prohibiting  the  entry  of  sick,  criminal,  and  de 
pendent  individuals.  The  local  governments  have  contrib 
uted  much  by  their  public  schools  systems,  which  have  been 
open  to  all  alike  and  have  enabled  practically  all  immigrants 
to  acquire  the  English  language  and  some  knowledge  of 
American  history  and  habits.  Quite  as  much  has  been  ac 
complished  by  private  efforts.  Particularly  "social  settle 
ments,  "  such  as  Hull  House  at  Chicago,  founded  and  directed 
by  Miss  Jane  Addams,  have  helped  the  newcomers  in  their 
difficulties  and  taught  them  American  ways.  The  children 
of  the  immigrants  seem  eager  to  adapt  themselves  to  American 
conditions,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  foreign  quarters  will 
become  a  thing  of  the  past,  as  have  those  of  the  Irish,  who  in 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  lived  quite  as  much  by 
themselves.  It  is  plain,  however,  that  the  proportion  of 
these  newer  nationalities  to  the  whole  population  is  so  large, 
that  when  they  have  become  assimilated,  the  characteristics 
of  the  whole  population  will  have  somewhat  changed. 


INDUSTRIAL  AND   SOCIAL  CHANGES 


Commerce 
and  finance. 


y 


Conditions 
peculiar  to 
the  South. 


While  the  United  States  continued  increasingly  to 
be  a  receiving  nation  from  the  standpoint  of  migration,  it 
became  more  and  more  an  exporting  nation  from  the  stand 
point  of  commerce.  The  amount  of  imports  in  proportion  to 
the  population  did  not  increase  nor  substantially  vary  from 
1870  to  1910,  while  the  proportion  of  exports  increased  almost 
fifty  per  cent.  The  most  significant  change  in  the  character 
of  trade  was  the  growing  importance  of  exports  of  manu 
factured  goods ;  for,  while  they  were  still  in  1910  of  smaller 
amount  than  those  of  cotton,  provisions,  and  other  natural 
products,  the  possibilities  of  their  development  began  to 
engage  general  attention.  Reciprocity,  free  trade,  the  ac 
quisition  of  colonies,  and  closer  relations  with  other  coun 
tries  were  all  discussed  as  methods  of  expanding  the  market 
for  these  products,  which,  unlike  the  traditional  American 
exports,  must  come  into  competition  with  those  of  European 
factories.  This  interest  grew  rapidly  between  1900  and  1910, 
during  which  years  the  home  demand  for  foodstuffs  and  the 
active  rivalry  of  Canada,  Argentina,  and  Australia  fore 
shadowed  the  end  of  the  export  provision  trade,  while  the  waste 
of  American  forests  threatened  a  future  dependence  upon 
other  nations  for  lumber.  It  became  increasingly  obvious 
that  our  balance  to  other  nations  must  be  paid  by  making 
better  or  cheaper  finished  articles,  rather  than  by  garnering 
the  fruits  of  nature.  Throughout  this  period  the  United 
States  continued  to  be  dependent  on  foreign  nations  for  the 
ocean  transit  of  both  passengers  and  goods.  The  great 
volume  of  American  exports,  however,  enabled  the  country 
easily  to  pay  for  these  services,  to  accumulate  nearly  all  the 
capital  required  for  its  industrial  undertakings,  and  to  enter 
foreign  fields,  particularly  China,  as  a  lender  of  money. 

While  the  South  shared  in  many  of  these  changes  and  was 
growing  into  closer  touch  with  the  rest  of  the  country,  it  is 
still  necessary  to  observe  some  special  conditions  there.  The 
South  gained  scarcely  at  all  by  immigration.  Nevertheless, 


NEGRO  PROBLEMS  515 

during  this  period,  more  nearly  than  at  any  time  since  the 
formation  of  the  government,  it  held  its  own  hi  the  increase 
of  population.  Both  the  white  and  the  negro  elements 
contributed,  the  gain  in  the  whites  being  proportionately 
somewhat  greater.  There  was  some  immigration  from  the 
North,  partly  of  a  leisure  class  seeking  health  and  a  quiet 
country  life,  and  partly  of  business  men  and  skilled  mechanics 
drawn  by  the  rapid  development  of  manufacturing.  For 
the  most  part,  however,  the  gain  came  because  the  South  was 
able  to  retain  its  own  sons  now  that  the  diversification  of 
industry  and  the  breakdown  of  the  plantation  system  opened 
more  widely  the  opportunities  for  advancement.  From  the  Negro 
time  of  the  Hayes  administration,  the  South  has  been  left  Problems° 
a  free  hand  in  the  solving  of  the  race  problem.  This  has 
meant  white  rule.  At  first  the  negroes  were  held  from  voting 
by  force  and  fraud.  Beginning  in  1890,  one  state  after  another 
adopted  constitutional  regulations  debarring  the  great  ma 
jority  of  the  negroes  from  the  suffrage.  These  regulations 
were  based  for  the  most  part  upon  educational  qualifica 
tions,  but,  by  admitting  Che  descendants  of  all  voters  of 
1860,  or  by  some  such  provision,  allowed  illiterate  whites 
to  vote.  Such  "  grandfather "  clauses  were,  in  1915,  de 
clared  by  the  Supreme  Court  to  be  in  violation  of  the 
fifteenth  amendment  and  void.  For  twenty-five  years, 
however,  they  substituted  a  method  supposedly  legal  for 
force.  Now  southern  opinion  seems  content  to  apply  the 
same  tests  to  blacks  as  to  whites,  though  election  officers 
may  favor  the  latter.  Lynching  and  the  crimes  which 
caused  it  are  on  the  decline,  and  there  seems  to  be  a  general 
diminution  in  the  use  of  "  private  law  "  and  increasing  re 
spect  for  the  law  of  the  land.  Southern  state  and  local  au 
thorities  are  now  doing  somewhat  more  for  negro  education 
than  earlier,  though  much  aid  is  still  given  by  the  North. 
Negro  education,  moreover,  as  a  result  largely  of  the 
work  of  Booker  T.  Washington,  President  of  Tuskegee  In- 


516  INDUSTRIAL  AND   SOCIAL   CHANGES 

stitute,  has  become  more  practical.  On  the  whole  the  re 
lations  between  the  blacks  and  whites  are  better  than  ever 
before,  and  the  negro  of  ability  and  skill  has  a  good  chance 
in  life,  though  the  negroes  as  a  race  have  not  as  yet  proved 
economically  efficient. 

Politics  in  The  negro  still  influences  politics.     While  the  North  has 

candidly  left  the  South  to  treat  the  relation  of  blacks  and 
whites  as  a  local  problem,  sentiment  and  tradition  have 
proved  too  strong  in  the  South  to  allow  it  to  give  up  its  polit 
ical  unity  and  cease  to  insist  on  its  separateness.  Southern 
congressmen  from  manufacturing  districts  vote  with  those 
from  similar  districts  in  the  North,  but  they  retain  nearly 
always  the  name  of  Democrat;  the  South  remains  politically 
solid,  and  its  party  allegiance  being  taken  for  granted, 
exerts  comparatively  little  influence  on  national  affairs. 
Local  politics,  however,  have  not  been  devoid  of  interest. 
For  many  years  the  old  leaders  of  the  planter  aristocracy ; 
known  as  the  Bourbons,  kept  control,  their  prestige  being 
enhanced  by  their  success  in  the  movement  for  the  reestab- 
lishment  of  home  rule  in  1876.  The  material  foundation  for 
their  power,  however,  had  disappeared ;  the  planter  aristoc 
racy  no  longer  existed  as  a  class,  its  members  being  scattered, 
many  into  the  professions,  some  into  the  North,  some 
unable  to  face  new  conditions,  and  only  a  few  retaining  their 
old  manner  of  life.  The  natural  result  has  been  that  since 
1890  there  has  been  a  rise  to  power  of  the  poorer  white 
farmer,  in  some  states  gradually,  in  some,  as  in  South  Caro 
lina  under  the  leadership  of  Senator  Tillman,  accompanied 
by  a  sharp  fight.  Among  the  issues  upon  which  this  fight 
has  been  made,  have  been  temperance,  currency,  industrial 
education,  and  the  regulation  of  railroads  and  monopolies; 
but  the  ingrained  southern  individualism  yields  slowly  and 
has  prevented  adoption  of  any  such  elaborate  system  of 
control  for  the  latter  as  has  been  provided  in  the  states  of 
the  North.  The  same  tradition  and  the  unorganized  con- 


IDEALS  517 

dition  of  the  labor  element  have  allowed  factory  legislation 
to  lag  behind  the  development  of  the  factory  system. 

Throughout  the  whole  country  and  among  all  its  diverse  Ideals  and 
streams  of  population,  the  predominant  questions  of  the  time,  opinion, 
in  public  and  private  life,  come  more  and  more  to  be  immedi 
ate,  practical,  and  complex.  The  general  truths  for  which 
the  earlier  generations  contended  are  mostly  established, 
and  their  limitations  realized.  Equality  of  opportunity  and 
equality  before  the  law,  belief  in  the  brotherhood  of  man  and 
in  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  are  accepted  as  forming  the 
most  satisfactory  basis  for  government,  but  they  obviously 
do  not  of  themselves  solve  the  problems  of  government.  It 
is  not  enough  to  make  man  free,  it  is  necessary  to  keep  per 
petual  watch  and  ward.  Many  of  the  new  issues  arise  on 
questions  of  detail,  questions  of  better  or  worse,  not  of  right 
or  wrong.  Continued  interest  and  study  are  more  important 
than  enthusiasm.  The  new  leaders  of  thought  are  increas 
ingly  students  unable  themselves  to  .present  their  views  to 
the  public.  The  essay,  the  poem,  the  editorial,  the  sermon, 
the  oration,  the  first-hand  utterance  of  the  leader  to  the 
people  are  largely  supplanted  by  the  popularized  semi- 
scientific  article  in  the  magazine.  Literature  has  declined 
in  quality  and  in  influence.  Poetry  has  become  the  pleasure 
of  the  dilettante,  not  a  real  force;  philosophy  languishes; 
theology  attracts  interest  chiefly  when  it  offers  health  to  the 
body  as  well  as  peace  to  the  soul.  Humanitarianism  is  more 
widespread,  more  self-devoting  than  ever  before,  but  it  has 
become,  not  only  more  practical,  but  more  material.  Ideals, 
however,  remain  potent.  Foremost  among  the  national  ideals 
is  the  preservation  of  democracy,  although  there  is  more 
inequality  of  condition  than  hi  the  time  of  Jackson,  and  more 
appreciation  of  the  difficulties  of  making  it  a  vital  living 
force.  Political  morality  rests  upon  a  higher  plane  than  at 
any  time  since  the  first  period  of  the  republic,  and  political 
interest  is  far  more  widespread  than  at  that  time.  The 


518  INDUSTRIAL  AND   SOCIAL   CHANGES 

energy  and  the  self-reliance  developed  by  the  conquest  of 
the  continent  remain  as  a  heritage  for  the  nation  in  solving 
its  new  and  more  humdrum  problems. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

Historical  Hart,  A.  B.,  Ideals  of  American  Government.      Ross,  E.  A., 

accounts.  Changing  America.  Encyclopedia  Britannica  (nth  ed.),  XXVII, 
634-663.  Bois,  W.  E.  B.,  The  Souls  of  the  Black  Folks.  Brown, 
W.  G.,  The  Lower  South.  CafFey,  F.  G.,  Suffrage  Limitations  in  the 
South  (Pol.  Sci.  Quart.,  XX,  53).  Dunbar,  P.  L.,  Folks  from  Dixie. 
Hart,  A.  B.,  The  Southern  South.  Tillinghast,  J.  A.,  The  Negro  in 
Africa  and  America.  Washington,  B.  T.,  Up  from  Slavery,  and 
Working  with  the  Hands.  The  South  in  the  Building  of  the  Nation. 
Turner,  F.  J.,  Social  Forces  in  American  History  (Am.  Hist.  Review, 
Jan.,  191 1,  217-233).  Van  Hise,  C.  R.,  Conservation  of  Natural 
Resources,  and  Concentration  and  Control.  Addams,  J.,  Twenty 
Years  at  Hull  House.  Riis,  J.  A.,  The  Battle  with  the  Slum. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 
POLITICAL  ADJUSTMENTS  AND  LEGISLATION 

ON  September  6, 1901,  while  attending  the  Pan-American  Roosevelt 
Exposition  at  Buffalo,  President  McKinley  was  shot  by  an  McKikley. 
anarchist.     He  died  on  September  14,  and  was  succeeded 
on  the  same  day  by  the  Vice  President,  Theodore  Roosevelt. 
While  the  latter  thus  became  President  unexpectedly,  having 
been  elected  to  an  office  which  carries  with  it  little  prestige 
or  power,  he  embodied  more  conspicuously  than  any  other 
man  in  the  country  the  new  forces  which  were  coming  to  the 
front  in  politics.  S 

Entering  politics  at  the  age  of  twenty-four  as  member  Roosevelt's 
of  the  New  York  legislature,  he  speedily  became  interested  c 
in  civil  service  reform.  From  1889  to  1895  he  served  on  the 
United  States  Civil  Service  Commission,  doing  much  to  pro 
mote  its  efficiency,  and  to  spread  the  movement.  As  presi 
dent  of  the  New  York  City  Police  Board,  1895  to  1897, 
he  showed  great  energy  in  breaking  up  the  connection  of 
the  police  force  with  vice  and  "graft"  which  had  been  exposed 
by  various  investigations.  Appointed  by  President  Mc 
Kinley  as  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  he  resigned  at 
the  opening  of  the  Spanish  War,  and  organized  and  served 
as  Lieutenant  Colonel  of  a  regiment  of  "Rough  Riders," 
enlisted  largely  from  the  "cowboys"  of  the  western  plains 
with  whom  he  had  become  familiar  by  residence  in  North 
Dakota,  1884  to  1886.  During  the  war  he  distinguished 
himself,  not  only  by  gallantry,  but  by  an  attack  on  the  effi 
ciency  of  the  War  Department,  which  resulted  ultimately  in 
the  resignation  of  Secretary  Russell  A.  Alger.  At  the  close 
of  the  war  he  was  elected  governor  of  New  York.  Securing 


520       POLITICAL  ADJUSTMENTS   AND   LEGISLATION 


Civil  service 
and  labor. 


High 
finance. 


this  position  in  opposition  to  "Boss"  Thomas  C.  Platt,  at 
that  time  senator  from  New  York,  he  came  to  be  looked  upon 
as  a  leader  by  those  who  wished  to  change  the  old  order 
of  things.  His  career  as  governor  confirmed  his  hold  on 
this  element,  and  he  became  a  leading  power  in  politics.  In 
the  Republican  convention  of  1900  he  was  chosen  as  candidate 
for  the  vice  presidency,  not  only  because  of  the  strength  he 
would  bring  to  the  ticket,  but  because  Senator  Platt  and 
Senator  Hanna  of  Ohio,  the  political  managers  for  President 
McKinley,  considered  that  he  would  be  least  dangerous  to 
the  established  order  in  that  position.  In  all  the  offices  in 
which  he  had  served  Mr.  Roosevelt  showed  an  unusual  ca 
pacity  for  work,  and  a  remarkable  vigor  and  directness  in 
urging  his  opinions. 

As  President,  Mr.  Roosevelt  continued  his  work  for 
civil  service  reform,  very  greatly  extending  the  number  of 
" classified"  positions  which  came  under  the  examination 
rules,  and  improving  the  consular  service,  which  was  still  left 
open  to  personal  appointments.  He  showed  great  interest 
in  the  problems  of  labor.  In  1902  a  strike  of  the  anthra 
cite  coal  miners  for  a  time  caused  great  distress  through 
out  the  North  and  threatened  a  cessation  of  industry  by 
cutting  off  the  coal  supply.  The  President  induced  both 
sides  to  submit  their  cases  to  a  commission  which  he  appointed, 
and  whose  decision  brought  peace.  In  1903,  at  his  sugges 
tion,  Congress  created  a  new  department  of  government  — 
that  of  Commerce  and  Labor — to  investigate  and  help  remedy 
industrial  conditions. 

During  these  years  the  movement  to  concentrate  the 
control  of  industry  went  on  with  greater  rapidity  than  ever 
before.  In  1900  J.  Pierpont  Morgan  arranged  the  United 
States  Steel  Company,  with  stocks  and  bonds  amounting  to 
$1,100,000,000  —  the  greatest  corporation  ever  organized. 
Controlling  ore  properties,  transport  lines,  and  factories,  it 
was  able  to  prevent  disputes  between  different  branches  of 


ELECTION  OP  1904  52! 

the  trade,  to  carry  out  great  economies,  and  for  several  years 
to  fix  the  price  of  steel  products.  E.  H.  Harriman  com 
bined  railroad  with  railroad,  the  Union,  Central,  and  South 
ern  Pacific,  the  Illinois  Central,  the  Oregon  Short  Line,  and 
smaller  units,  securing  a  firm  grip  on  transportation  within 
the  quadrilateral  formed  by  Chicago,  Portland,  San  Diego,  * 
and  New  Orleans.  His  only  competitors  were  the  Santa  Fe 
and  the  Gould  system,  consisting  of  the  Missouri  Pacific  and 
allied  lines.  In  New  England,  the  New  York,  New  Haven, 
and  Hartford,  under  the  initiative  of  Mr.  Morgan,  was  rap 
idly  acquiring  a  monopoly  of  transportation  by  land  and  sea, 
by  steam  and  electricity.  In  the  far  northwest,  James  J. 
Hill,  builder  of  the  Great  Northern,  attempted  to  complete 
his  hold  by  uniting  with  that  road  the  Northern  Pacific  and 
the  Chicago,  Burlington,  and  Quincy.  As  the  two  latter  were 
directly  competing  roads,  a  merger  would  be  illegal,  so  the 
Northern  Securities  Company  was  formed  to  hold  and  vote 
a  majority  of  the  stock  of  both.  The  era  of  competition  in 
transportation  seemed  about  to  end.  By  direction  of  the 
President,  however,  suit  was  brought  under  the  Sherman 
Anti-Trust  Law  against  the  Securities  Company,  and  the 
Supreme  Court  in  1904  ordered  it  dissolved  as  a  trust  within 
the  meaning  of  the  law.  In  1912  the  Court  ordered  the 
Union  Pacific  to  give  up  its  control  of  the  Southern  Pacific. 

Before  Mr.  Roosevelt's  becoming  President,  four  Vice  Election  of 
Presidents  had  become  chief  executive  by  the  death  of  the  I9°4< 
elected  President.  All  of  them  had  desired  election  to  the 
office  to  which  they  had  thus  accidentally  arrived,  but  in 
no  case  had  they  even  received  the  nomination  of  their 
party.  Mr.  Roosevelt,  however,  had  by  1904  taken  so 
strong  a  hold  on  the  public  good  will  that  he  was  unani 
mously  nominated  by  the  Republican  convention  to  succeed 
himself.  In  the  Democratic  convention  the  conservative 
wing  triumphed,  choosing  Judge  Parker  of  New  York  as 
candidate,  and  enjoining  silence  on  the  currency  question. 


522     POLITICAL  ADJUSTMENTS  AND  LEGISLATION 

They  made  their  issue  with  the  Republicans  chiefly  on  the 
tariff  and  imperialism.  The  result  of  the  election  was  the 
overwhelming  victory  of  Mr.  Roosevelt.  Mr.  Parker 
failed  to  call  out  the  full  Democratic  strength  that  Mr.  Bryan 
had  developed  in  1896  and  1900,  while  the  Republicans 
cast  an  unprecedented  vote.  This  result  was  not  unexpected, 
and  it  had  in  fact  been  thought  possible  that  Mr.  Roosevelt 
might  break  the  solid  South.  All  thought  of  this,  however, 
had  been  abandoned  before  the  election  as  the  result  of 
southern  agitation  at  his  inviting  Mr.  Booker  T.  Washington, 
a  negro,  to  luncheon. 

Corporation  Thus  triumphantly  elected,  Mr.  Roosevelt  proceeded 
to  urge,  still  more  vigorously  than  before,  an  elaborate  pro 
gram.  The  questions  of  corporations,  trusts,  and  transporta 
tion  continued  to  attract  the  widest  public  interest.  Mr. 
Bryan,  in  many  respects  the  leader  of  the  Democratic  party, 
urged  the  public  ownership  of  railroads  as  the  best  solution 
possible.  Mr.  Roosevelt  advocated  regulation.  In  1905  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Act  was  supplemented  by  a  provision 
enabling  the  government  to  secure  additional  information, 
and  in  1906  a  substitute  act  was  passed  giving  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission  power  to  fix  railroad  rates  for  inter 
state  commerce,  subject  to  revision  by  the  courts.  The 
President  also  ordered  the  Attorney-General  to  bring  suit 
against  a  number  of  the  trusts  under  the  Sherman  Anti- 
Trust  Law. 

Crisis  of  1907.  In  the  same  year  there  occurred  an  industrial  and  financial 
crisis.  This  was  mainly  due  to  overspeculation  in  indus 
trial  securities  which  in  many  cases  represented  anticipated 
earning  capacity  rather  than  real  value.  It  was  probably 
hastened  by  the  defects  in  the  banking  system,  and  to  some 
extent  by  the  destruction  of  property  in  the  San  Francisco 
earthquake  and  fire  of  1906.  While  the  interruption  of  busi 
ness  was  not  so  great  as  in  1873  and  1893,  people  felt  the 
crisis  keenly,  for  prices  of  necessities  did  not  fall  so  far  as  after 


ROOSEVELT'S  ADMINISTRATION  523 

those  crises,  and  the  price  of  meat  advanced.  As  in  1873  and 
1893  concentration  of  industrial  and  financial  control  was 
stimulated,  the  stronger  organizations  swallowing  up  those 
weakened  by  the  disturbance  of  credit.  To  the  absorption 
of  the  Tennessee  Coal  and  Iron  Company  by  the  United  States 
Steel  Corporation,  the  President  gave  his  approval,  arguing 
that  not  all  trusts  were  bad,  and  that  in  this  case  the  ad 
vantages  outweighed  the  disadvantages.  This  position  was 
attacked  by  those  who  believed  it  possible  to  prevent  trusts 
from  holding  monopolies  in  their  respective  fields,  and  who 
wished  to  restore  competition.  Discussion  raged  on  the  plat 
form  and  in  the  press,  but  it  was  several  years  before  the 
conflicting  views  became  well  defined.  To  improve  the  cur 
rency  situation  the  Aldrich-Vreeland  bill  was  passed  in  1908, 
which  increased  the  elasticity  of  national  bank  note  issues. 
A  commission  to  make  a  thorough  study  of  currency  and  to 
report  a  plan  for  permanent  relief  had  previously  been  pro 
vided  for. 

Some  of  the  most  notable  events  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  ad-  Peace  and  ? 
ministration  were  in  the  field  of  diplomacy.  In  1904  the 
way  for  the  Panama  Canal  was  cleared  of  diplomatic  prob 
lems,  as  has  already  been  pointed  out.  Promptly  work  on 
the  canal  was  begun  and  was  pushed  with  vigor.  In  1905 
Mr.  Roosevelt  helped  to  bring  the  war  between  Japan  and 
Russia  to  a  close,  by  suggesting  a  negotiation  in  United  States 
territory.  In  1906,  in  recognition  of  this  service,  he  was 
awarded  the  "Nobel  Peace"  prize.  In  his  negotiations  with 
the  Spanish-American  powers,  Mr.  Roosevelt  pursued  a 
policy  which  came  to  be  known  as  that  of  the  "Big  Stick,", 
insisting  on  the  maintenance  of  order  and  the  recognition  of 
obligations.  No  hostilities,  however,  resulted,  and  some 
progress  was  made  towards  the  settlement  of  disputes  by 
arbitration. 

While  Mr.  Roosevelt  in  practice  stood  for  peace,  he  urged  Army  and 
strongly  that  the  United  States  should  be  prepared  for  war,  navy* 


524     POLITICAL  ADJUSTMENTS   AND   LEGISLATION 

and  found  much  support  in  Congress  for  his  suggestions. 
The  national  militia  law  was  revised,  and  the  regular  army 
was  reorganized  on  modern  lines  with  the  control  vesting  in 
a  general  staff  of  which  General  Leonard  Wood  became 
chief.  While  the  army  was  reduced  from  the  war  footing  of 
1898,  it  remained  over  twice  as  large  as  it  had  been  before  the 
Spanish  War,  amounting  to  about  sixty-seven  thousand  men. 
The  navy  was  much  more  largely  increased,  and  in  1907,  by 
direction  of  the  President,  a  large  portion  of  it  cruised  round 
the  world,  as  a  test  of  efficiency  which  it  stood  most  com- 
mendably. 
Conservation  One  of  the  subjects  most  congenial  to  Mr.  Roosevelt  was 

and  social 

problems.  that  of  conservation.  By  executive  order  he  withdrew 
large  areas  of  public  land  from  sale,  for  the  purpose  of  in 
vestigating  their  natural  resources,  and  he  recommended 
that  Congress  pass  legislation  protecting  the  interests  of  the 
general  public  in  such  minerals,  water  powers,  and  forests 
as  should  be  found  in  them.  The  forest  service  under  Mr. 
Gifford  Pinchot  was  reorganized  by  Congress  and  granted 
new  powers  and  appropriations.  Congress  also,  in  1902, 
granted  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  public  lands  in  many 
western  states  to  be  used  for  carrying  out  irrigation  projects, 
a  large  number  of  which,  opening  up  thousands  of  acres 
to  cultivation,  were  undertaken.  In  1908  the  President 
called  a  meeting  of  the  governors  of  the  several  states 
to  discuss  the  whole  conservation  problem.  President 
Roosevelt  also  gave  his  attention  to  a  vast  number  of  subjects 
affecting  the  welfare  of  the  country,  some  of  which  were  fitted 
to  become  topics  of  legislation  and  some  were  not.  In  1906 
a  Pure  Food  Law  and  a  Meat  Inspection  Law  were  passed, 
the  first  of  which  especially,  actively  administered  by  Dr. 
Wiley,  drew  widespread  popular  approval.  Commissions 
were  appointed  to  investigate  a  great  variety  of  matters, 
such  as  the  question  of  employers'  liability.  The  labor  of 
women  and  children  was  made  a  matter  of  study  by  the 


ELECTION  OF   1908  525 

Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  and  the  questions  of 
safety  devices  on  railroads  and  the  working  hours  of  railroad 
employees  were  actively  discussed  in  Congress.  The  Presi 
dent  interested  himself  in  race  suicide  and  divorce. 

While  much  legislation  was  passed  during  Mr.  Roose-  Election  of 
velt's  presidency,  much  of  it  was  passed  in  the  form  of  I9°8> 
compromise  measures  unsatisfactory  in  many  respects  to  those 
whose  pressure  forced  it  through,  but  accepted  as  marking 
progress.  A  great  deal,  moreover,  depended]  on  the  spirit 
in  which  this  legislation  should  be  administered,  and  many 
problems  remained  as  yet  untouched.  The  choice  of  Mr. 
Roosevelt's  successor,  therefore,  excited  the  keenest  interest, 
for  Mr.  Roosevelt  announced  that  he  considered  that  he 
had  served  two  terms  and  would  abide  by  the  precedent 
set  by  Washington  against  more  than  one  reelection.  The 
power  of  making  this  choice  practically  lay  with  Mr.  Roose 
velt  himself,  so  strong  was  his  hold  on  his  party.  He  selected 
Judge  William  Howard  Taft,  who  had  served  as  commissioner 
and  governor  in  the  Philippines,  1900  to  1904,  and  as  Secretary 
of  War,  1904  to  1908.  The  Democrats  for  the  third  time 
nominated  Mr.  Bryan.  The  campaign  was  fought  on  what 
were  known  as  the  "Roosevelt  Policies,"  though  the  hard 
times  following  the  crisis  of  1907  caused  some  emphasis  to  be 
laid  on  the  tariff,  one  of  the  few  fields  of  legislation  upon 
which  there  had  been  no  recent  lawmaking.  Both  parties, 
however,  talked  of  reduction,  and  so  no  clear  issue  was  made 
upon  it.  The  election  again  resulted  in  a  decided  victory 
for  the  Republicans,  although  Mr.  Bryan  received  almost  a 
million  more  votes  than  did  Judge  Parker  in  1904. 

President  Taft  announced  that  his  administration  would  The  tariff, 
continue  the  policies  of  his  predecessor,  but  changed  most 
of  the  cabinet.  Mr.  Knox,  who  had  been  Attorney- General, 
succeeded  Mr.  Root  as  Secretary  of  State,  and  Mr.  Ballinger 
was  promoted  from  the  commissionership  of  the  General  Land 
Office  to  be  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  In  1910  the  Interstate 


526     POLITICAL  ADJUSTMENTS  AND  LEGISLATION 


Election  of 
1910  and 
Canadian 
reciprocity. 


Commerce  Commission  was  again  given  more  power,  and  a 
Commerce  Court  established  to  review  its  decisions.  The 
latter,  however,  proved  unpopular  and  was  discontinued 
in  1913.  The  main  interest  centered  upon  the  tariff.  The 
agitation  on  this  question  had  become  so  acute  that  a  special 
session  was  called'  to  deal  with  it.  The  result  was  a  new 
act,  known,  from  Mr.  Payne,  chairman  of  the  House  Com 
mittee  on  Ways  and  Means,  and  Mr.  Aldrich,  chairman  of  the 
Senate  Committee  on  Finance,  as  the  Payne- Aldrich  law. 
This  bill  proved  a  bitter  disappointment  to  those  who  had 
expected  a  substantial  revision  downward.  The  President 
shared  this  view,  but  signed  the  bill,  building  hope  of  relief 
on  the  fact  that  the  law  provided  for  a  Tariff  Commission. 
This  commission  was  to  study  conditions  and  supply  Congress 
with  information  which  would  enable  it  to  frame  a  tariff  on 
the  basis  of  offsetting  differences  in  the  cost  of  production  in 
the  United  States  and  other  countries.  The  President  also 
hoped  to  modify  the  tariff  substantially  by  reciprocity  treaties. 
Both  these  hopes  of  President  Taft  were  disappointed. 
Before  the  Tariff  Commission  was  ready  to  report,  the  elec 
tion  of  1910  took  place,  and  the  disappointment  of  the  country 
found  expression  in  returning  a  large  Democratic  majority 
to  the  House  of  Representatives,  thus  breaking  the  control 
of  the  government  which  the  Republicans  had  continuously 
held  since  the  first  inauguration  of  McKinley  in  1897.  In 
1911  the  President  succeeded  in  securing  an  agreement  for 
reciprocity  with  Canada.  This  was  not  universally  popular 
in  the  United  States,  but,  nevertheless,  was  formally  ap 
proved.  It,  however,  became  at  once  the  subject  of  violent 
controversy  in  Canada,  and  practically  the  sole  issue  in  a 
general  election  there.  The  contest  resulted  in  the  defeat  of 
the  Liberals,  led  by  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  who  had  secured  the 
pact,  by  the  Conservatives,  who  opposed  it.  This  election, 
therefore,  defeated  the  arrangement  after  the  United  States 
had  accepted  it. 


THE  PROGRESSIVES  527 

The  Payne- Aldrich  law  not  only  brought  defeat  to  the  Re-  The  Republi- 
publicans  in  Congress,  but  also  practically  marked  a  breach  rt 

between  the  administration  and  a  group  of  Republicans  in 
Congress  known  by  their  opponents  as  "Insurgents"  and 
calling  themselves  "Progressives."  The  leader  of  this 
group  was  Senator  La  Follette  of  Wisconsin.  In  1901  he 
had  become  governor  of  that  state  after  a  long  fight  with  the 
established  party  organization.  As  governor  he  secured 
the  passage  of  a  primary  law,  the  establishment  of  a  rate 
commission  with  extremely  broad  powers,  a  law  providing 
for  the  taxation  of  railroads  on  the  basis  of  their  physical 
valuation,  and  many  other  progressive  measures.  Coming 
to  the  Senate  in  1906,  he  in  general  cooperated  with  Presi 
dent  Roosevelt,  although  he  expressed  strong  dissatisfac 
tion  because  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act  of  1900  did  not 
provide  for  the  physical  valuation  of  the  railroads,  and 
criticised  many  details  of  legislation  and  of  executive  action. 
He  violently  opposed  the  Payne-Aldrich  bill,  and  became  a 
constant  critic  of  the  Taft  administration.  A  similar  posi 
tion  was  taken  by  Senators  Dolliver  and  Cummins  of  Iowa, 
Clapp  of  Minnesota,  Bourne  of  Oregon,  Beveridge  of  Indiana, 
and  others .  The  Progressive  movement  was  relatively  stronger 
in  the  Senate  than  in  the  House,  because  in  most  cases  there 
had  been  a  long  state  fight,  and  when  it  was  won,  the  leader 
was  elected  to  the  -Senate.  It  was  not,  however,  without 
strength  in  the  House.  In  the  last  session  of  the  first  or  Re- 
publican  Congress  under  President  Taft,  the  Insurgent  Repub 
licans  combined  with  the  Democrats  in  an  attack  on  Speaker 
Cannon.  Chosen  to  that  position  in  1903,  he  had  concentrated 
in  his  hands  even  greater  powers  than  Mr.  Reed  had  exercised, 
and  had  used  them  to  a  large  extent  in  opposing  legislation 
desired  by  the  new  element  in  politics.  In  1911  a  change  in 
the  House  rules  was  brought  about,  reducing  the  power  of 
the  Speaker  and  intrusting  to  a  committee  elected  by  the 
House  much  of  the  power  he  had  held. 


528     POLITICAL  ADJUSTMENTS   AND   LEGISLATION 

Passing  The  growth  of  the  Progressive  movement  was  marked  by 

feaders er  ^e  retirement  of  many  of  the  men  who  for  a  long  time  had 
exercised  a  controlling  influence  in  national  politics.  In  1907 
Mr.  Spooner  of  Wisconsin  resigned  from  the  Senate.  In 
1911  Senator  Hale  of  Maine,  who  had  been  a  member  of  that 
body  since  1881  and  had  become  the  senior  member  in  point 
of  service,  failed  of  reelection,  and  in  the  same  year  Senator 
Aldrich  of  Rhode  Island  declined  reelection.  In  1912  Senator 
Crane  of  Massachusetts  announced  that  he  would  not  be  a 
candidate  for  reelection,  and  Senator  Cullom  of  Illinois 
was  defeated  in  the  primary  election  in  that  state.  These 
changes,  with  the  deaths  of  Senator  Hanna  of  Ohio,  in  1904, 
of  Senators  Hawley  and  Platt  of  Connecticut  in  1905,  and  of 
Senator  Allison  of  Iowa  in  1908,  removed  from  political  life 
more  active  leaders  than  had  passed  in  any  similarly  short 
period  except  that  between  1850  and  1854. 

Legislative  With  the  Republican  party  divided  on  many  issues,  and  the 

Democrats  in  control  of  the  House  after  1911,  it  was  difficult 
to  secure  legislation.  Yet  a  system  of  Postal  Savings  Banks 
was  established  by  Congress  in  1911,  and  in  1912  a  Parcel 
Post.  Postmaster-General  Hitchcock,  moreover,  very  much 
improved  the  administration  of  the  Post  Office,  eliminating 
the  deficit  which  had  for  many  years  existed  in  that  depart 
ment.  A  department  of  labor  was  established  and  a  bureau  to 
supervise  mines,  with  a  view  to  increasing  the  safety  of  the 
workers.  Congress  and  the  executive  combined  to  press  with 
vigor  the  construction  of  the  Panama  Canal.  The  splendid 
work  of  Colonel  Gorgas  in  sanitation  rendered  the  Isthmus 
safely  habitable,  while  Colonel  Goethals,  of  the  army  engineer 
ing  corps,  pressed  the  work  of  construction  even  more  rapidly 
than  planned,  insuring  its  readiness  for  use  in  1914.  The 
cost  bids  fair  to  be  about  four  hundred  millions,  close  to 
the  estimates  of  1909.  Congress  also  recommended  to 
the  states  two  amendments  to  the  federal  Constitution: 
one  giving  Congress  power  to  impose  a  national  income 


NEW  LEGISLATION  529 

tax  such  as  the  Supreme  Court  had  declared  unconstitutional 
during  Cleveland's  administration,  and  the  other  providing 
for  the  popular  election  of  United  States  senators.  In  1913 
these  proposals  were  ratified  by  the  proper  number  of  state 
legislatures,  and  they  have  become  respectively  the  Sixteenth 
and  Seventeenth  Amendments  to  the  Constitution. 

On  controversial  questions,  however,  action  was  blocked.  Deadlock  on 
The  President  was  particularly  interested  in  the  question  of  and^rifT 
the  settlement  of  international  disputes  by  arbitration  and 
secured  treaties  with  England  and  France  which  it  was  hoped 
would  make  war  with  those  countries  practically  impossible. 
The  Senate,  however,  fearing  that  the  treaties  diminished  its 
constitutional  powers  over  treaty  making  in  the  future, 
amended  them  in  such  a  way  as  to  limit  their  scope  consid 
erably.  In  1911  and  1912  the  Democratic  House  passed  a 
number  of  bills  reducing  the  tariff  on  certain  classes  of  goods, 
such  as  woolens,  which  also  passed  the  Senate  by  a  combin 
ation  of  Democrats  and  Progressive  Republicans.  The  Presi 
dent,  however,  vetoed  them.  Thus  a  partial  deadlock 
existed,  and  public  interest  began  to  center  in  the  next 
presidential  campaign. 

In  the  meantime  the  executive  conduct  of  President  Taft  Criticism  of 
was  severely  criticised,  particularly  with  regard  to  the 
question  of  conservation.  A  controversy  arose  between  Mr. 
Gifford  Pinchot,  Chief  of  the  Forest  Service,  and  Mr.  Ballinger, 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  with  regard  to  what  were  known  as 
the  "Cunningham"  coal  claims  in  Alaska  and  to  the  opening 
up  to  public  sale  of  certain  lands  on  Controller  Bay  in  the 
same  territory.  The  Secretary  was  accused  of  having  un 
duly  favored  certain  capitalists  and  having  allowed  them  to 
obtain  a  practical  monopoly  of  Alaskan  coal,  and  these 
charges  were  widely  believed.  The  President  supported 
Mr.  Ballinger,,  and  Mr.  Pinchot  left  office  in  1910.  In  1911 
Mr.  Ballinger  also  resigned.  A  somewhat  similar  controversy 
arose  in  the  Department  of  Agriculture  over  the  enforcement 


530      POLITICAL  ADJUSTMENTS   AND   LEGISLATION 

of  the  Pure  Food  Law,  which  resulted  in  the  resignation  of 
Dr.  Wiley  in  1912. 

The  courts  The  judicial  system  during   Mr.  Taft's  administration 

trusts.  was  also  subject  to  more  severe  criticism  than  at  any  other 

time  since  the  Johnson  administration.  In  1911  the  Supreme 
Court,  on  suit  brought  by  the  Attorney-General,  dissolved 
the  Standard  Oil  Company  of  New  Jersey,  the  oldest  of  the 
trusts,  holding  it  to  be  in  violation  of  the  Sherman  Anti- 
Trust  Law.  While  this  action  pleased  the  Progressives,  the 
form  of  the  decision  did  not.  The  Court  held  that  the  intent 
of  the  law  was  not  to  prevent  all  combinations  in  restraint  of 
trade,  but  only  those  which  were  "unreasonable."  It  was 
argued  by  many  that  in  "reading  the  word  reasonable"  into 
the  law,  the  Court  was  amending  an  act  of  Congress,  and  was 
assuming  legislative  power.  This  decision  brought  to  a  head 
the  dissatisfaction  with  the  courts  which  had  for  some  time 
been  brewing,  particularly  because  of  their  use  of  the  injunction 
in  labor  troubles,  and  the  decisions  of  both  state  and  national 
courts  declaring  unconstitutional,  laws  representing  the 
social,  economic,  and  political  tendencies  of  the  time.  Many 
began  to  demand  that  judges  be  subject  to  recall,  and  Cali 
fornia  adopted  in  1911  an  amendment  to  her  constitution 
providing  a  method  of  recall.  Subsequent  decisions  of  the 
Supreme  Court  interpreting  the  Anti-Trust  Law,  such  as  that 
in  the  case  of  the  Tobacco  Trust  in  1912,  convinced  many 
that  the  dissolutions  ordered  by  the  Court  were  not  com 
plete  enough  to  be  effective,  and  that  the  Anti-Trust  Law 
was  not,  at  least  as  interpreted,  sufficient  to  restore  an  era  of 
competition.  Many  others  came  to  believe  that  com 
petition  could  not  be  restored,  and  that  combinations  of 
capital  should  not  be  prohibited,  but  regulated.  Attention, 
moreover,  was  attracted  to  the  concentration  of  financial 
control  in  the  hands  of  a  few  men,  of  whom  J.  Pierpont 
Morgan  was  the  most  important.  It  was  claimed  that  a 
money  trust  existed,  which  practically  held  in  its  hands  the 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1912  531 

industrial  and  transportation  trusts  by  supplying  or  denying 
them  money.  This  trust  was  less  tangible  than  the  others, 
but  if  such  control  was  exercised  by  any  group  of  banks  or 
bankers,  the  fact  was  of  high  importance.  In  1912  the 
House  of  Representatives  appointed  a  committee,  headed  by 
Mr.  Pujo  of  Louisiana,  to  investigate  the  facts. 

Under  these  circumstances  the  election  of  1912  ap-  Split  of  the 
preached.  President  Taft  was  a  candidate  for  reelection. 
The  successful  prosecution  of  several  trusts  by  Attorney- 
General  Wickersham,  and  the  refusal  of  the  Interstate  Com 
merce  Commission  to  approve  an  increase  of  railroad  rates, 
were  unpopular  with  the  "stand-pat"  element  of  the  party,  but 
its  leaders,  nevertheless,  determined  to  support  the  President. 
The  Progressives,  however,  angered  by  the  tariff  vetoes,  the 
dismissal  of  Pinchot,  and  other  acts,  disapproved  his 
candidacy.  Senators  La  Follette  and  Cummins  both  were 
declared  candidates,  but  the  bulk  of  the  Progressive  support 
went  to  ex-President  Roosevelt,  who  made  a  vigorous  cam 
paign  for  the  nomination.  The  convention  which  met  in 
June  was  controlled  by  the  conservative  element  and  Presi 
dent  Taft  was  nominated.  The  balance  of  power  in  the 
convention,  however,  was  held  by  delegates  whose  seats  were 
contested.  In  practically  all  such  contests  the  Taft  dele 
gates  were  seated  by  the  national  committee,  which  made  up 
the  temporary  roll  of  the  convention,  and  were  finally  recog 
nized  by  the  convention  organized  on  the  basis  of  this  tem 
porary  roll.  Mr.  Roosevelt  claimed  that  such  action  con 
stituted  a  theft  of  the  nomination.  He  maintained  also  that 
the  bulk  of  Mr.  Taft's  strength  came  from  states,  as  those 
of  the  South,  where  the  Republican  party  was  small  and 
powerless  to  secure  electoral  votes.  He  therefore  refused 
to  recognize  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Taft,  and  subsequently 
a  call  was  issued  for  a  new  convention  to  meet  in  August. 
At  this  latter  convention  he  received  the  nomination  for  the 
presidency  on  the  National  Progressive  ticket.  The  long- 


532     POLITICAL  ADJUSTMENTS  AND  LEGISLATION 

standing  differences  in  the  Republican  party,  therefore, 
finally  resulted  in  a  distinct  split,  although  certain  Progres 
sives,  such  as  Senator  La  Follette,  distrusting  Roosevelt 
personally,  stood  aloof  from  both  candidates. 

Pemocratic  The  Democratic  party  looked  forward  confidently  to  elect 

ing  a  President  in  1912.  The  leading  candidates  were  the 
men  who  had  been  brought  to  the  front  by  the  victory  of 
1910;  Mr.  Clark  of  Missouri,  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  Mr.  Underwood  of  Alabama,  who  as  Chair 
man  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  had  led  the  major 
ity  in  the  House,  and  various  state  governors,  as  Foss  of 
Massachusetts,  Baldwin  of  Connecticut,  Wilson  of  New 
Jersey,  Harmon  of  Ohio,  and  Marshall  of  Indiana,  while 
many  thought  it  possible  that  Mr.  Bryan  might  be  nominated 
for  a  fourth  time  although  he  was  not  a  candidate.  The 
Democratic  party,  like  the  Republican,  was  divided  into 
Conservatives  and  Progressives,  although  the  division  was  not 
so  acute.  Of  the  candidates,  Governor  Harmon,  who  had 
been  Attorney- General  during  Cleveland's  second  administra 
tion,  was  regarded  as  most  pleasing  to  the  Conservatives. 
Governor  Wilson  was  a  newcomer  in  politics.  He  had  been 
for  many  years  well  known  as  a  writer  on  political  and 
historical  subjects,  and  in  his  Congressional  Government, 
published  in  1885,  had  for  the  first  time  called  public  atten 
tion  to  the  method  by  which  Congress  actually  did  its  work 
—  that  is,  by  the  committee  system.  His  occupation,  how 
ever,  was  education,  and  he  resigned  the  presidency  of 
Princeton  University  only  in  1910  to  become  governor  of 
New  Jersey.  In  that  position  he  was  instrumental  in  securing 
the  adoption  of  a  comprehensive  scheme  of  progressive  meas 
ures,  and  he  was  generally  regarded  as  the  most  progressive 
of  the  candidates.  Speaker  Clark  was  regarded  as  standing 
between  the  extremes  and  for  a  time  seemed  likely  to  secure 
the  nomination,  receiving  at  one  time  a  majority  vote  in 
the  convention.  The  Democrats,  however,  adhered  to  the 


CAMPAIGN  ISSUES  533 

two-thirds  rule  as  had  been  their  custom  from  their  first 
convention  in  1832.  Mr.  Bryan  attended  the  convention  and 
fought  to  have  the  party  declare  for  a  progressive  platform 
and  a  candidate  absolutely  progressive  in  fact  and  in  repu 
tation.  In  this  fight  he  was  successful,  and  on  the  forty- 
sixth  ballot  Woodrow  Wilson  was  nominated. 

As  the  campaign  progressed  the  main  issues  came  to  be,  Campaign 
besides  a  strongly  felt,  though  somewhat  vague,  difference  1: 
between  Conservatives  and  Progressives,  the  tariff  and  the 
trusts.  Both  Mr.  Taft  and  Mr.  Roosevelt  stood  for  a  protec 
tive  system  but  for  a  revision  of  the  existing  law,  in  accordance 
with  expert  advice,  toward  lower  rates.  Mr.  Wilson  stood  for 
immediate,  but  gradual,  revision  downward  toward  a  tariff  for 
revenue.  On  the  trusts,  Mr.  Taft  stood  for  the  enforcement 
of  the  Sherman  Law  with  the  idea  of  reestablishing  compe 
tition.  Mr.  Wilson  believed  that  the  Sherman  Law,  with 
additional  legislation  and  a  properly  adjusted  tariff,  would  re 
store  competition.  Mr.  Roosevelt  maintained  his  idea  that 
not  all  trusts  were  bad,  that  in  many  cases  monopolistic  con 
centration  was  economically  necessary,  and  that  strong  regula 
tive  measures  by  the  national  government  could  prevent 
abuses.  The  campaign  was  marked,  as  that  preceding  the 
nominations  had  been,  by  personal  charges  and  counter 
charges,  and  the  personal  factor  was  unusually  important  in 
determining  the  result.  Hundreds  of  thousands  voted  ac 
cording  to  the  confidence  they  felt  in  the  one  candidate  or 
the  other,  rather  than  from  a  clear  opinion  on  the  points  at 
issue. 

In  the  election  Mr.  Wilson  carried  forty  states  and  435  Election  of 
electoral  votes,  and  the  Democrats  secured  an  overwhelming  IQI2 
majority  in  the  House  and  a  small  one  in  the  Senate.     In 
the  popular  vote  Mr.  Wilson,  with  about  six  million  three  hun 
dred  thousand,  ran  somewhat  behind  the  figures  previously 
obtained  by  Mr.  Bryan.     As  many  previously  Republicans 
voted  for  him,  the  difference  was  somewhat  greater  than 


534       POLITICAL  ADJUSTMENTS  AND  LEGISLATION 

would  at  first  appear.  Probably  the  bulk  of  the  Democrats 
who  left  their  party  voted  for  Mr.  Roosevelt,  who  received  a 
popular  vote  of  about  four  million  one  hundred  thousand, 
and  88  electoral  votes.  The  states  that  he  carried  included 
Pennsylvania  in  the  East  and  California  and  Washington  in 
the  West.  In  twenty-two  states  he  ran  second.  Mr.  Taft's 
three  and  a  half  million  popular  votes  were  inadequately  rep 
resented  by  8  electoral  votes,  those  of  Vermont  and  Utah. 
In  nineteen  he  ran  second.  The  Republicans,  however,  either 
because  Mr.  Roosevelt's  personal  popularity  exceeded  the 
drawing  power  of  the  new  party,  or  because  the  short  time  in 
tervening  between  the  convention  and  the  election  prevented 
widespread  organization  by  the  Progressive  party,  won  most 
of  the  congressional  districts  not  carried  by  the  Democrats, 
and  upon  them  would  fall  the  burden  of  organized  opposi 
tion.  As  Mr.  Wilson  and  Mr.  Roosevelt  were  both  regarded 
as  Progressives,  although  many  Democrats  and  some  Republi 
cans  of  conservative  tendencies  voted  for  the  former,  it  was 
obvious  that  a  very  great  majority  of  voters  were  dissatis 
fied  with  existing  conditions  and  demanded  an  effective  con 
sideration  of  the  new  problems  with  which  the  nation  finds 
itself  confronted.  While  no  such  legislative  revolution  as 
those  of  1800  and  1860  seems  impending,  the  election  prob 
ably  marks  the  end  of  the  recent  period  of  hesitation  and  a 
definite  launching  upon  a  new  era  of  national  organiza 
tion. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

Historical  Allen,  P.  L.,  America's  Awakening,  containing  short  sketches 

accounts.  of  contemporary  leaders.  LaFollette,  R.  M.,  Autobiography. 
Leupp,  F.  E.,  The  Man  Roosevelt.  McCarthy,  Charles,  The 
Wisconsin  Idea.  Munroe,  W.  B.,  Initiative,  Referendum,  and 
Recall.  Ogg,  F.  A.,  National  Progress,  1907-1917,  vol.  27  of  The 
American  Nation.  Paxson,  F.  L.,  The  New  Nation,  vol.  4  of  River 
side  Series.  Roosevelt,  T.,  An  Autobiography. 


CHAPTER  XXX 
THE  NEW  DEMOCRACY 

IN  1913  for  the  first  time  since  1861  the  Democrats  came 
into  effective  control  of  the  government.  Between  1893 
and  1895  they  had  held  the  presidency  and  a  majority  in 
both  houses,  but  internal  divisions  had  prevented  the  carry 
ing  out  of  a  logical  program.  Now  harmony  seemed 
possible.  The  first  effect  of  the  political  revolution  was  to 
bring  into  administrative  responsibility  a  new  group  of 
leaders.  Naturally  an  unusual  proportion  came  from  the 
South.  Of  ten  cabinet  members,  four  were :  J.  C.  McRey- 
nolds  of  Tennessee,  Attorney-general;  A.  S.  Burleson  of 
Texas,  Postmaster  General;  Josephus  Daniels  of  North 
Carolina,  Secretary  of  the  Navy;  and  D.  F.  Houston  of  Mis 
souri,  Secretary  of  Agriculture.  The  South  was  still  stronger  influence  of 
in  Congress.  Clark  and  Underwood  continued  as  speaker  t 
and  floor  leader  respectively  in  the  House,  while  in  the 
Senate  F.  M.  Simmons  of  North  Carolina  became  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  finance  and  J.  S.  Williams  of  Mississippi 
the  chief  spokesman  of  the  administration. 

It  was  the  West,  however,  which  furnished  the  new  re-  Bryan, 
gime,  with  its  most  compelling  figure  in  William  Jennings 
Bryan.  Thrice  defeated  for  the  presidency,  and  without 
having  served  in  public  office  since  his  brief  tenure  in  Con 
gress  nearly  twenty  years  before,  he  had  never  lost  the  hold 
on  the  people  he  had  established  in  the  thrilling  campaign 
of  1896.  From  a  thousand  political  and  Chautauqua  plat 
forms  his  geniality  constantly  radiated,  and  the  magnetism 
of  his  good  nature  and  his  uprightness  tied  millions  to  him 

535 


53$  THE  NEW  DEMOCRACY 

as  to  a  friend.  In  a  sense  unusually  real  he  had  made  Mr. 
Wilson  President,  and  the  latter's  administration  could  not 
have  accomplished  a  single  one  of  its  aims  had  Bryan  been 
slighted ;  as  a  matter  of  course  he  was  offered  the  principal 
position  in  the  cabinet,  and  became  Secretary  of  State.  Yet 
his  appointment  was  disapproved  by  many.  Some,  believ 
ing  him  to  be  moved  chiefly  by  political  ambition,  feared 
he  would  betray  the  administration.  Others  feared  his 
radical  tendencies.  Still  more  doubted  his  ability  satisfac 
torily  to  administer  large  responsibilities  and  particularly 
foreign  affairs.  In  practice  his  personal  relations  with  the 
President  showed  his  genuine  good  faith,  while  the  con 
fidence  that  his  presence  in  the  cabinet  gave  to  the  more 
radical  element  in  the  party  afforded  the  leaders  a  greater 
freedom  in  handling  public  questions,  and  particularly  that 
of  the  currency,  than  could  have  been  attained  in  any  other 
way.  His  management  of  diplomacy  was  more  open  to 
criticism,  and  particularly  his  choice  of  ministers  to  foreign 
countries  showed  in  some  instances  that  lack  of  a  discrimi 
nating  judgment  of  men  which  is  so  often  the  concomitant 

Social  of  good  nature.  In  addition  he  exercised  a  leading  influence 

in  changing  the  social  tone  of  official  life  at  Washington,  to 
harmonize  more  with  that  of  the  usual  American  household. 
His  decision  to  serve  no  wine  at  the  official  banquets  was 
criticized,  but  was  also  widely  approved.  The  abolition  of 
the  use  of  wine  in  the  navy  by  Secretary  Daniels  still  further 
emphasized  the  temperance  tendencies  of  the  new  order. 

Woodrow  People  were  not  long  in  learning,  however,  that  the  real 

leader  of  the  new  administration  was  to  be  the  President. 
Woodrow  Wilson  came  to  office  with  less  political  experience 
than  any  of  his  predecessors  except  Taylor  and  Grant,  but 
without  hesitation  he  assumed  the  leadership,  and  soon 
demonstrated  a  driving  force  seldom  before  equaled.  Reti 
cent  and  unspectacular,  he  convinced  the  public  of  his  com 
plete  probity  and  his  absolute  independence.  His  influence 


WOODROW  WILSON  537 

with  Congress  lay  in  his  simple  and  direct  expression  of  the 
requirements  of  public  opinion  and  of  morality  as  he  saw 
them.  With  a  scholar's  disregard  of  tradition,  he  threw 
aside  that  which  Jefferson  had  established  of  restricting 
communication  between  Congress  and  the  executive  to 
writing,  and  read  his  messages  in  person.  With  an  unshak 
able  insistence  on  his  own  views,  not  unlike  that  of  Jackson, 
Polk,  and  Cleveland,  he  possessed  something  of  the  persua 
siveness  of  Jefferson.  He  pushed  through  obstacles  to 
achievement  with  joy  in  the  fight  and  with  unusual  success. 
Whether  he  will  prove  equally  successful  in  dealing  with 
questions  where  combination,  conciliation,  and  compromise 
are  necessary,  is  yet  a  question. 

Confronted  by  the  not  unjust  demand  of  a  party  long  out  The  dvil 
of  power  for  a  prompt  redistribution  of  public  offices,  he 
nevertheless  succeeded  in  clearing  Washington  of  office- 
seekers  and  developing  his  policy  in  peace.  In  the  case  of 
officers  subject  to  confirmation  by  the  Senate,  except  those 
in  the  diplomatic  and  consular  corps,  the  majority  were 
allowed  to  complete  their  terms,  at  the  close  of  which,  in 
most  cases,  new  men,  Democrats,  were  nominated.  The 
consular  service  was  left  on  the  whole  untouched;  the 
diplomatic  service,  on  the  other  hand,  was  almost  altogether 
renewed. 

If  there  was  any  one  task  which  public  opinion  imposed  Tariff  and 
upon  the  victorious  party,  it  was  the  revision  of  the  tariff. 
A  special  session  of  Congress  was  called,  and  Mr.  Under 
wood  presented  a  bill  which  had  been  in  preparation  since 
1911.  While  to  some  extent  a  compromise  like  all  tariff 
bills,  it  was  quite  obviously  based  on  the  principle  of  revenue 
rather  than  protection.  The  rates  on  cotton,  iron,  and 
woolen  manufactures  were  reduced,  in  some  cases  to  less 
than  half  those  previously  in  force  ;  to  the  free  list  were 
added  many  of  our  own  products,  chiefly  raw  materials  such 
as  wool  and  lumber ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  duties  were 


538  THE  NEW  DEMOCRACY 

imposed  on  certain  raw  materials  not  produced  in  America 
and  free  under  the  protective  acts.  It  was  estimated  that 
on  the  whole  the  customs  revenue  would  be  reduced,  and  so, 
as  in  1894,  an  income  tax  was  added.  The  sixteenth  amend 
ment  having  settled  the  question  of  constitutionality,  its 
proceeds  could  now  be  counted  upon.  It  exempted  incomes 
under  three  thousand  dollars,  or  four  thousand  in  the  case 
of  married  couples,  and  the  rate  was  graduated,  rising  with 
the  income.  The  corporation  tax  which  had  been  adopted 
in  1911  was  continued,  though  in  modified  form.  The  bill 
was  signed  by  the  President  October  3,  1913.  Embodying 
as  it  did  an  almost  complete  revision  of  our  revenue  system, 
it  was  not  without  some  surprise  that  the  financial  year 
closed  July  i,  1914,  with  an  almost  exact  balance  of  revenue 
and  expenditure.  Its  economic  results  were  less  easy  to 
gauge,  and  its  effects  on  prices  and  on  trusts  were  by  no 
means  certain  when  the  next  congressional  election  took 
place. 

I  President  Wilson  feared  that  the  passage  of  new  tariff 
would  be  followed  by  what  he  subsequently  called  a  psy 
chological  panic  ;  that  is,  business  depression  produced  not 
by  actual  adverse  conditions,  but  by  fear  of  such  conditions 
aggregated  by  the  desire  of  many  financial  leaders  to  prove 
the  new  policy  a  mistake.  To  prevent  such  an  occurrence 
he  urged  that  the  same  session  of  Congress  which  passed 
the  tariff  should  pass  also  a  currency  bill.  The  adminis 
tration  measure,  known  as  the  Glass-Owen  bill,  was  largely 
based  upon  information  gathered  by  the  Aldrich  commission, 
although  it  did  not  follow  its  main  recommendations. 
Amended  vigorously  in  the  Senate,  it  became  a  law  before 
Congress  met  in  regular  session,  December,  1913.  Its  pur 
pose  was  to  decentralize  and  bring  under  public  control  the 
banking  resources  of  the  country,  and  to  provide  a  currency 
which  should  be  more  elastic  without  being  less  sound.  In 
practice  there  had  grown  up  a  distinction  between  "  country 


FEDERAL  RESERVE  BANKS  539 

banks  "  and  certain  great  institutions,  particularly  in  New 
York.  In  the  latter  the  "  country  banks  "  deposited  their 
cash  reserves,  on  which  they  received  interest.  It  resulted 
that  the  control  of  bank  resources  was  strongly  centralized, 
and  there  is  little  doubt  that  during  the  panic  of  1907  J.  P. 
Morgan  practically  handled  the  available  cash  of  the  nation. 
This  distinction  was  recognized  by  the  creation  of  "  Federal 
Reserve  Banks,"  whose  number,  between  the  limits  of  eight 
and  twelve,  and  whose  location  were  left  to  executive  dis 
cretion.  The  stockholders  and  customers  of  these  new 
banks  were  to  be  banks,  their  directors  were  to  represent 
the  banks,  the  business  community,  and  the  government, 
and  they  were  to  be  supervised  by  a  Federal  Reserve  Board 
of  seven  government  officials,  including  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  who  were  to  be  advised  by  a  Federal  Advisory 
Council  chosen  by  the  Reserve  banks.  National  banks 
were  obliged  to  subscribe  for  stock,  and  state  banks  and 
trust  companies  were  permitted  to  do  so,  though  it  was  dis 
covered  that  many  of  them  were  prevented  by  state  laws. 
The  new  banks  were  to  hold  in  deposit  reserve  funds  for  the 
banks,  to  act  as  clearing  houses,  to  have  powers  of  foreign 
exchange,  and  in  general  to  do  for  the  smaller  banks  what 
had  been  done  by  the  great  institutions  of  New  York.  The 
established  currency  of  the  country  was  not  disturbed,  but 
the  Federal  Reserve  Board  was  given  power  to  issue  through 
the  Reserve  banks,  a  new  paper  currency,  based  in  part  on 
cash  reserves,  though  they  could  be  at  times  disregarded, 
and  in  part  on  the  ordinary  instruments  of  credit,  as  short- 
term  notes.  This  currency  was  to  be  receivable  for  all  public 
dues,  and  to  be  redeemable  in  gold  at  Washington.  It  was 
intended  that  it  should  be  issued  chiefly  in  times  of  panic, 
when  private  credit  was  distrusted,  and  it  was  arranged 
that  it  should  flow  back  and  be  destroyed  when  not  needed. 
These  two  laws  represented  the  most  fundamental  change 
in  the  revenue,  banking,  and  currency  system  which  had 


540 


THE  NEW  DEMOCRACY 


Trust  legis 
lation. 


Election 
of  1914. 


been  made  since  the  Civil  War.  During  its  regular  session, 
1913  to  1914,  Congress  devoted  its  energies  largely  to  the 
trust  question.  The  Clayton  act  amended  the  Sherman  act 
in  the  light  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  of  experience,  and  a 
Federal  Trade  Commission  was  created  to  control  corpora 
tions  doing  general  business  in  more  than  one  state,  with 
powers  somewhat  similar  to,  though  not  so  extensive  as, 
those  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  over  corpora 
tions  engaged  in  interstate  transportation. 

These  new  acts  had  not  been  long  enough  in  operation 
when  the  congressional  elections  of  1914  occurred,  for  the 
public  to  have  gained  any  distinct  impression  as  to  their 
effect.  The  outbreak  of  the  Great  War,  moreover,  so  com 
plicated  the  economic  conditions  of  the  whole  world,  that 
even  the  closest  student  was  at  a  loss  in  disentangling  the 
results  of  war  from  those  of  legislation.  The  elections,  there 
fore,  had  no  great  political  significance.  The  most  impor 
tant  feature  was  the  return  of  more  than  half  the  Progres 
sives  to  the  Republican  fold.  The  latter  party  gained  still 
further  votes  from  the  reaction  that  seems  always  to  follow 
a  great  victory  in  the  presidential  year ;  it  carried  several 
states  which  had  voted  for  Wilson,  and  sent  to  the  House 
some  of  its  old  leaders  defeated  in  1912,  such  as  Mr.  Cannon, 
and  many  new  members.  The  Democrats,  however,  retained 
a  working  majority  in  the  House,  and  increased  their  lead  in 
the  Senate. 

Meantime  the  attention  of  the  country  was  more  or  less 
withdrawn  from  internal  affairs,  by  a  number  of  foreign 
complications.  The  chief  interest  of  Secretary  Bryan  in  his 
department  lay  in  the  cause  of  peace,  and  he  negotiated  a 
series  of  new  arbitration  treaties,  designed  to  prevent  the 
hasty  outbreak  of  war.  Of  particular  questions,  that  of  the 
rights  of  Japanese  subjects  in  California  was  especially 
troublesome,  owing  to  the  inability  of  the  national  govern 
ment  to  control  state  legislation.  The  desire  of  Congress  to 


THE  MONROE  DOCTRINE  541 

exempt  American  vessels  from  tolls  for  the  use  of  the  Panama 
Canal,  which  was  incorporated  in  the  law  of  1913  regulating 
its  use,  brought  about  difficulties  with  Great  Britain,  for  the 
Hay-Pauncefote  treaty  of  1901  had  provided  that  there  should 
be  no  discrimination.  President  Wilson  maintained  that  this 
was  an  international  obligation  which  it  was  our  duty  to 
observe,  and  in  1914  Congress  withdrew  the  exemption. 

A  more  important  and  perplexing  problem,  however,  The  Monroe 
involved  Mexico  and  the  Monroe  Doctrine.  Under  the 
Roosevelt  and  Taft  administrations  the  doctrine  had  gradu 
ally  been  extended  to  include  the  interposition  of  the  United 
States  in  disputes  between  European  and  Spanish- American 
states,  and  our  assumption  of  responsibility  for  seeing  that 
the  latter  lived  up  to  their  obligations.  In  1911  we  asserted 
that  no  foreign  corporation  should  be  allowed  to  receive  con 
cessions  that  might  prove  dangerous  to  us  at  strategic  points 
in  America,  though  outside  our  jurisdiction.  The  coloniz 
ing  activity  of  the  Japanese  began  to  excite  some  alarm,  but 
we  maintained  our  principles  of  exclusion  against  her  also, 
although  we  did  not,  as  in  the  case  of  the  European  powers, 
abstain  from  all  interference  with  Asiatic  affairs*  It  was  still 
our  obvious  purpose  to  prevent  the  establishment  of  any  for 
eign  influence  on  American  soil,  which  should  serve  as  a  basis 
for  a  system  of  balance  of  power  such  as  exists  in  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Africa.  At  the  same  time  our  attention  had  be 
come  more  and  more  centered  about  the  Caribbean,  that  por 
tion  of  South  America  south  of  the  equator  not  being  so  inti 
mately  within  our  sphere  of  influence,  and  being  also  more 
self-sufficing,  dominated  as  it  came  to  be  by  the  orderly  and 
established  governments  of  Brazil,  Argentina,  and  Chile. 

Mexico,  the  most  important  country  in  our  immediate  (Troubles in ^ 
vicinity,  had  long  seemed  quiet,  and  billions  of  dollars  had  M^Px-  - 
been  invested  in  her  progress  by  Americans,  English,  French, 
Germans,  Spaniards,  and  men  of  other  nationalities.     In 
1911  her  tranquillity  vanished  with  the  passing  of  the  Diaz 


542 


THE  NEW  DEMOCRACY 


regime.  His  successor,  Madero,  was  overthrown  by  General 
Huerta  in  1913,  and  was  imprisoned  and  shot.  Huerta 
assumed  the  presidency,  only  to  face  the  immediate  revolt 
of  the  north,  under  Carranza,  governor  of  the  state  of 
Coahuila.  President  Wilson  refused  to  recognize  any  govern 
ment  in  Mexico,  on  the  ground  that  we  could  not  morally 
give  cognizance  to  a  government  founded  on  violence  and 
without  constitutional  authority.  He  believed  that  our  fail 
ure  to  recognize  Huerta  would  deprive  the  latter  of  credit, 
and  that  by  "  watchful  waiting  "  we  should  see  the  quiet 
extinction  of  his  government,  and  a  return  to  peace  and 
order.  This  "  nonrecognition,"  although  it  seemed  to  many 
unduly  passive  on  our  part,  really  marked  the  most  extreme 
extension  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  for  it  involved  us  for  the 
first  time  in  a  general  supervision  of  the  internal  affairs  of 
the  American  republics. 

Unofficially  we  treated  with  Huerta,  who  controlled  south 
eastern  Mexico,  and  Carranza,  who  controlled  the  northwest. 
Difficulties  with  Huerta  led  in  March,  1914,  to  the  occupa 
tion  of  Vera  Cruz  by  United  States  troops.  At  this  point 
the  A,  B,  C  governments  of  South  America  —  Argentina,  Bra 
zil,  and  Chile  —  offered,  and  we  accepted,  mediation,  a  con 
ference  being  held  at  Niagara  Falls  which  did  much  toward 
preventing  war.  In  addition,  it  helped  convince  Spanish 
America  that  our  policy  was  disinterested,  and  became  the 
starting  point  of  a  new  departure  in  Pan- Americanism,  which 
at  the  meeting  of  the  American  Scientific  Congress  at  Wash 
ington  in  December,  1915,  developed  a  cordiality  never  be 
fore  reached. 

In  Mexico  confusion  continued.  Carranza  overthrew 
Huerta,  only  to  be  attacked  by  his  own  lieutenant  Villa. 
Our  government  possessed  a  weapon  of  interference  in  the 
control  of  the  shipment  of  arms,  which  Congress  had  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  President.  At  first  we  supported  Villa, 
but  upon  his  defeat  by  Carranza,  we  came  to  pin  our  hopes 


PROTECTION  OF  THE  BORDER  543 

of  order  upon  the  latter,  and  in  November,  1915,  recognized 
his  government.  Villa,  however,  remained  at  large,  and  in 
the  spring  of  1916  emerged  from  his  mountain  hiding  places 
and  raided  our  territory.  The  President  promptly  ordered 
General  Pershing  with  twelve  thousand  regulars  to  cross 
into  Mexico,  on  the  ground  that  the  Mexican  government 
was  not  able  to  restrain  its  citizens  and  we  were  justified  in 
taking  what  steps  were  necessary  to  defend  our  border.  He 
also  ordered  out  our  state  militia  to  replace  the  regulars 
along  our  side  of  the  border.  The  whole  operation  was 
under  the  charge  of  General  Funston,  who  had  won  his 
reputation  by  the  capture  of  Aguinaldo  in  the  Philippines. 
A  joint  commission  of  United  States  and  Mexican  repre 
sentatives  was,  in  the  meantime,  arranged,  which  we  hoped 
would  discuss  the  general  problem  of  the  regeneration  of 
Mexico.  This  hope,  however,  proved  delusive.  Villa  re 
mained  uncaught  and  grew  in  strength,  and,  this  new  policy 
having  failed  to  produce  pacification,  the  regulars  were, 
early  in  1917,  withdrawn  from  Mexico,  and  the  return  of 
the  militia,  after  six  months  of  hard  training,  was  begun. 

Suddenly  in  August,  1914,  more  than  half  the  world  was  The  Great 
involved  in  war.  The  United  States  was  confronted  by  a  War> 
greater  world  conflict  than  that  of  the  Napoleonic  period. 
While  it  was  relatively  stronger  than  it  had  been  a  century 
before,  the  growth  of  trade  and  intercourse  had  rendered  the 
fabric  of  its  civilization  more  dependent  upon  that  of  other 
nations,  and  the  fact  that  its  population  was  composed  of 
immigrants  from  both  the  warring  groups,  suggested  the 
possibility  of  a  division  of  sentiment  more  dangerous  than 
that  between  the  French  and  British  sympathizers  under 
Washington. 

In  the  face  of  these  dangers  the  Wilson  administration  Administra- 
determined  to  pursue  a  policy  of  strict  neutrality  based  upon 
those  precedents  and  agreements  relating  to  the  rights  and 
the  duties  of  neutrals  which  had  developed  out  of  our  past 


544  THE  NEW  DEMOCRACY 

experience.  In  by  far  the  greater  number  of  instances  these 
practices  were  admitted  by  both  belligerents  to  be  the  law 
governing  their  actions.  In  some  cases,  however,  there  were 
disputes,  and  in  others  the  belligerents  claimed  that  modern 
conditions  rendered  an  old  rule  obsolete  or  alleged  that  the 
disregard  of  some  rule  by  the  other  belligerent  justified  a 
departure  from  that  or  from  some  other  rule  on  their  own 
part.  The  disputes  arising  from  these  causes  in  the  case  of 
Great  Britain  and  her  allies  related  for  the  most  part  to 
trade;  those  with  Germany  and  her  allies,  to  the  personal 
safety  of  Americans  on  the  high  seas.  The  administration 
persistently  asserted  the  American  position  in  all  such  cases, 
and  in  June,  1915,  Mr.  Bryan  resigned  from  the  state  depart 
ment  on  the  ground  that  our  policy  should  be  directed  pri 
marily  to  the  maintenance  of  peace  rather  than  the  mainte 
nance  of  our  rights.  He  was  succeeded  by  Robert  Lansing, 
a  man  of  wide  knowledge  of  international  law  but  without 
great  political  experience.  His  appointment  indicated  that 
the  exigencies  of  the  foreign  situation  were  recognized  as 
greater  than  those  of  domestic  politics. 

Diplomatic         As  in  all  similar  cases,  we  found  that  neutrality  had  its 
service.  duties.     Most  of  the  belligerent  countries  requested  us  to 

take  charge  of  their  affairs  in  the  countries  with  which^-they 
were  at  war.  The  performance  of  this  courtesy  did  not  in 
volve  us  in  expense,  but  called  for  a  greatly  increased  staff. 
This  led  to  reorganization  and  the  passage  of  a  law,  Febru 
ary  5,  1915,  which  placed  the  entire  diplomatic  service,  with 
the  exception  of  the  ministers  and  ambassadors,  upon  a 
classified  basis.  To  prevent  the  use  of  our  territory  for  hos 
tile  purposes,  of  which  there  were  many  instances  early  in 
the  war,  it  was  found  necessary  to  reorganize  and  increase 
our  secret  service.  Since  the  summer  of  1915,  it  has  been 
effective. 

International       As  the  war  went  on,  Germany  and  her  allies  were  cut  off 
problems.       £rom  tke  out^Q  worid  by  the  operations  of  Great  Britain 


INTERNATIONAL  PROBLEMS  545 

and  her  allies.  While  this  caused  some  industrial  distress 
in  the  United  States,  the  volume  of  our  commerce  increased 
enormously,  owing  to  the  demands  of  the  British  allies  for 
war  munitions  and  supplies  of  all  kinds.  The  scope  of  our 
manufacturing  expanded,  and,  in  particular,  our  long  lan 
guishing  merchant  marine  revived  without  the  national 
assistance  which  the  administration  at  first  thought  would 
be  necessary.  While  it  was  in  accordance  with  our  policy 
and  with  international  law  for  a  neutral  to  trade  wherever 
possible,  many  German  sympathizers  and  peace  advocates 
urged  that  we  put  a  total  embargo  on  the  export  of  muni 
tions.  Extremists  on  the  other  side  thought  we  should  have 
protested  against  the  violation  of  Belgian  neutrality  at  the 
opening  of  the  war,  and  after  the  sinking  of  the  Lusitania, 
May  7,  191 5,-  without  warning,  by  a  submarine,  and  with 
the  loss  of  many  American  lives,  demanded  immediate  war 
with  Germany.  The  administration  insisted  that  the  prac 
tice  of  which  this  was  an  example  was  intolerable,  but  con 
tinued  the  negotiations  it  had  begun  when,  in  February, 
1915,  Germany  had  first  announced  this  policy.  Finally,  after 
the  sinking  of  the  Sussex  in  March,  1916,  Germany  agreed, 
May  4,  to  abandon  its  practice  of  sinking  vessels  indis 
criminately  without  warning.  As  we  passed  through  crisis 
after  crisis,  the  chance  that  the  United  States  might  be 
forced  to  take  part  in  the  war  became  more  evident,  and 
attention  was  devoted  to  the  problem  of  preparation. 
Upon  the  question  of  creating  a  permanent  national  volun 
teer  force,  standing  between  the  regular  army  and  the 
militia,  the  secretary  of  war,  Mr.  Garrison,  resigned,  and  was 
replaced  by  Mr.  Baker.  Congress  finally,  in  1916,  passed 
the  Hay  bill,  a  complicated  measure,  which  provided  for  the 
strengthening  of  the  regular  army  and  the  militia,  and  the 
creation  of  a  corps  of  reserve  officers.  The  execution  of 
this  measure  was  much  interfered  with  by  the  high  wages  in 
industry,  and  a  vigorous  movement  for  universal  compul- 


546  THE  NEW  DEMOCRACY 

sory  service  began  to  make  headway.  With  little  opposition 
or  discussion,  a  great  expansion  of  the  navy  was  provided  for. 

Nominations,       Under  these  circumstances  the  election  of  1916  drew  near. 

1916.  The  Democrats,  without  hesitation,  renominated  Wilson  and 

Marshall.  The  Republicans,  by  a  great  majority,  called 
Mr.  Hughes  from  the  Supreme  Court,  with  Mr.  Fairbanks 
of  Indiana  as  his  running  mate.  The  Progressives,  meet 
ing  at  the  same  time,  again  selected  Mr.  Roosevelt,  just  be 
fore  Mr.  Hughes's  nomination,  and  very  possibly  in  the  hope 
that  he  would  receive  the  Republican  nomination  also. 
When  Mr.  Hughes  accepted,  however,  Mr.  Roosevelt  gave 
him  his  support.  The  Progressive  vice-presidential  candi 
date,  Mr.  Parker  of  Louisiana,  refused  to  retire,  and  the 
disposition  of  the  Progressive  party  became  one  of  the  chief 
problems  of  the  campaign.  It  was  a  poor  year  for  third 
parties.  The  Socialist  vote  decreased,  the  Prohibition  can 
didate  received  but  small  support  in  spite  of  the  growing 
popularity  of  that  issue,  and  the  Progressives  were  impor 
tant  only  as  individuals  who  might  vote  with  one  of  the 
major  parties,  and  whose  good  will  might  be  secured  by 
recognition  of  their  principles. 

Campaign,          The    campaign    turned   chiefly   upon   foreign    relations. 

1916.  Hughes  and  Roosevelt  urged  that  a  more  emphatic  policy 

by  our  government  would  not  have  brought  on  war  but 
would  have  secured  better  recognition  of  our  rights  by  both 
belligerents.  The  official  German-American  organizations 
supported  Hughes.  Wilson  was  attacked  in  the  East  as 
pro-German ;  in  the  West,  as  pro-British.  A  strong  appeal 
was  made  to  the  women  who  since  1912  had  secured  the 
vote  in  Nevada,  Montana,  and  Illinois;  making  twelve 
states  in  all,  of  which  Kansas  and  Illinois  alone  were  east  of 
the  region  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  Republicans  sent i 
a  woman's  train  through  the  country,  and  declared  in  favor 
of  the  Susan  B.  Anthony  amendment,  making  woman  suf-  ' 
frage  national.  Wilson  declared]  in  favor  of  woman  suffrage 


CAMPAIGN,   1916  547 

by  state  action,  and  the  Democratic  voters  called  on  the 
women  especially  to  vote  for  the  man  "  who  kept  us  out 
of  war."  A  new  issue  was  suddenly  injected  into  the  cam 
paign  by  a  threatened  national  strike  of  railroad  men. 
President  Wilson,  after  many  conferences,  recommended  to 
Congress  a  program  granting  the  men  their  demand  for 
an  eight-hour  day,  and  including  other  measures  intended  to 
prevent  a  recurrence  of  such  a  situation.  Congress  passed 
only  the  eight-hour  provision,  in  the  form  of  the  Adamson 
bill.  The  strike  was  averted,  but  many  felt  that  a  danger 
ous  precedent  had  been  created  in  that  Congress  had  acted 
under  stress  of  an  ultimatum  by  a  single  industrial  interest. 

The  election  brought  out  a  new  sectional  division,  long  Election, 
existent  but  not  so  apparent  in  politics,  and  the  importance  IQl6> 
of  the  Far  West.  Hughes  carried  all  the  East  and  the  old 
Northwest,  except  New  Hampshire  and  Ohio,  and  almost 
nothing  else.  The  result  was  uncertain  for  days,  awaiting 
news  from  California,  emphasizing  in  the  public  mind  the 
shift  of  the  political  center,  which  for  so  many  years  had 
been  in  New  York.  While  the  greater  number  of  women 
voters  favored  Wilson,  their  vote  was  not  very  dissimilar 
from  that  of  the  men  in  the  regions  where  they  voted,  and 
few  conclusions  could  be  drawn  from  their  actions.  Wilson 
was  reflected  by  an  electoral  vote  of  277  to  254,  and  by  a 
popular  plurality  of  about  half  a  million.  The  Democrats 
retained  control  of  the  Senate,  but  neither  party  secured  a 
majority  in  the  House,  where  the  balance  rested  with  five 
independents  and  small  party  men. 

Assured  of  popular  support,  President  Wilson  initiated  a  An  effort 
more  positive  policy  with  reference  to  the  Great  War.    He  for  peace* 
asked  the  various  belligerents  to  state  to  us  the  terms  upon 
which  they  would  be  willing  to  make  peace,  and,  in  a  speech 
to  the  Senate,  he  urged  that  a  world  federation  to  enforce 
peace,  if  founded  upon  principles  in  accordance  with  our 
ideals,  would  not  be  a  violation  of  our  traditional  policies, 


548 


THE  NEW  DEMOCRACY 


The  Great 
War  at  the 
end  of  1916. 


Germany  de 
cides  to  risk 
war  with 
the  United 
States. 


and  asked  for  consideration  of  such  a  project.  Before  dis 
cussion  had  taken  shape,  however,  a  new  crisis  was  upon  us. 

In  the  meantime,  three  campaigns  had  brought  no  military 
decision  in  the  Great  War.  The  initial  drive  of  the  Germans 
failed  to  reduce  France,  though  it  won  control  of  Belgium  and 
the  richest  industrial  regions  of  France.  The  Verdun  drive 
of  1916  left  the  French  army  and  spirit  still  intact.  Germany 
had  indeed  realized  for  the  moment  her  dream  of  Mittel- 
Europa,  occupying  Serbia,  crushing  Roumania,  and  so  open 
ing  a  path  to  the  Orient.  The  British,  however,  still  held 
its  gates,  Egypt  and  Mesopotamia,  had  quenched  the  back 
fires  of  revolt  Germany  had  raised  in  India  and  other  parts 
of  the  world,  and  with  their  allies  had  taken  most  of  the 
German  colonies.  Their  blockade,  growing  in  intensity,  was 
causing  great  scarcity  in  Germany. 

Under  these  circumstances  there  was  a  bitter  struggle 
within  the  governing  class  of  Germany,  between  those  who 
thought  her  aggressive  designs  should  be  given  up  for  the 
present  and  a  reasonable  peace  concluded,  and  those  who 
wished  to  make  the  final  gamble:  the  indiscriminate,  un 
lawful  use  of  submarines.  They  believed  that  it  was  pos 
sible  thus  to  separate  Europe  from  America,  as  Russia  was 
separated  from  the  Western  Powers;  and  that  it  would 
therefore  be  a  matter  of  military  indifference  whether  the 
United  States  came  into  the  war  or  not.  At  the  end  of 
1916,  this  extreme  military  party  won  the  upper  hand. 


Sources. 

Historical 
accounts. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

Current  History,  published  by  the  New  York  Times.  Gerard, 
J.  W.,  My  Four  Years  in  Germany. 

Corwin,  E.  S.,  The  President's  Control  of  Foreign  Relations. 
Fish,  C.  R.,  American  Diplomacy.  Ogg,  F.  A.,  National  Progress, 
1907-1917,  vol.  27  of  the  American  Nation.  Paxson,  F.  L.,  The 
New  Nation,  vol.  4  of  Riverside  Series.  Robinson,  E.  E.,  and 
West,  V.  J.,  The  Foreign  Policy  of  Woodrow  Wilson. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 
THE  UNITED   STATES   IN  THE   GREAT  WAR 

ON  January  31,  1917,  Germany  withdrew  her  pledge  of  Germany 
May  4,  1916,  limiting  the  activity  of  her  submarines  within  national*  law 
lawful  bounds.    After  careful  deliberation,  and  in  the  face 
of  our  protests,  she  announced  her  intention  of  waging  war 
to  the  death  against  all  merchant  ships,  enemy  or  neutral,  in 
certain  "zones,"  which  included  those  parts  of  the  seas  where 
most  of  our  ocean-going  marine  was  employed. 

On  February  3  President  Wilson,  personally  addressing  Armed 
Congress,  announced  that  he  had  recalled  Mr.  Gerard,  our  neutrality' 
ambassador  to  Germany,  and  had  given  Count  von  Bern- 
storff,  the  German  ambassador  to  the  United  States,  his 
passports.  Still  bent  on  exhausting  every  possibility  of 
peace,  he  recommended  not  war,  but  armed  neutrality,  such 
as  we  had  employed  in  1798  against  France,  in  order  that 
Germany  might  be  absolutely  convinced  of  our  determination 
to  defend  our  rights,  and  have  still  a  chance  to  withhold  her 
hand.  In  accordance  with  this  recommendation,  a  measure 
for  arming  our  merchant  ships  was  prepared,  which  was 
supported  by  an  overwhelming  majority  in  both  houses  of 
Congress,  but  was  prevented  from  passing  at  that  session 
by  "a  little  group  of  willful"  senators,  who  "filibustered" 
against  it,  taking  advantage  of  every  technicality  of  the 
Senate  rules  of  debate.  Nevertheless  the  President,  assured 
of  the  support  of  immense  majorities  in  both  houses,  on 
March  12,  proclaimed  an  "armed  neutrality"  in  force. 

What  was  in  February  a  threat,  became  in  April  a  fact.  War 
In  March  five  American  ships  were  sunk  without  warning,  exists- 

549 


550  THE  GREAT  WAR 

and  twenty  American  lives  lost.  Moreover  a  diplomatic 
note  of  January  19  was  made  public,  signed  and  later  acknowl 
edged  by  Mr.  Zimmermann  of  the  German  foreign  office,  pro 
posing  to  Mexico  an  aggressive  alliance  against  us  in  case 
we  went  to  war  with  Germany,  and  suggesting  that  Mexico 
take  measures  to  bring  Japan  into  the  alliance.  A  flood  of 
evidence  began  to  rush  upon  us,  showing  that  Germany,  in 
violation  of  her  professions  and  of  international  law,  had 
been  using  our  territory  as  a  base  for  operations  not  only 
against  her  enemies,  but  against  us  also.  For  years  she  had 
supported  a  propaganda  intended  to  make  our  German-born 
population  loyal  to  her,  rather  than  to  the  United  States,  to 
whom  most  of  them  had  sworn  allegiance.  During  the  war 
she  spent  millions  here  to  win  public  opinion  and  to  influence 
Congress.  Her  spies  made  their  way  into  the  centers  of 
government,  sought  to  demoralize  our  labor  system,  and 
recklessly  destroyed  American  lives  by  blowing  up  factories, 
docks,  and  ships.  It  was  evident  that  Germany  had  been 
waging  war  against  us  for  nearly  three  years.  On  April  2, 
1917,  President  Wilson  recommended  that  Congress  accept 
the  state  of  war  thus  thrust  upon  us,  and  on  April  6  Congress 
voted  a  declaration  of  war. 

President  Wilson  pointed  out  that  while  we  had  not 
entered  the  war  until  it  was  plainly  evident  that  Germany 
was  actually  fighting  us,  we  sought  "nothing  for  ourselves ' 
but  what  we  shall  wish  to  share  with  all  free  peoples." 
"We  have  no  quarrel  with  the  German  people.  ...  It 
was  not  upon  their  impulse  that  their  government  acted  in 
entering  this  war."  He  reasserted  his  hope  of  world  federa- 
The issue.  tion,  but  stated:  "A  steadfast  concert  for  peace  can  never 
be  maintained  except  by  a  partnership  of  democratic  nations. 
No  autocratic  government  could  be  trusted  to  keep  faith 
within  it  or  to  observe  its  covenants."  He  did  not  recom 
mend  immediate  war  upon  Germany's  allies,  Austria- 
Hungary,  Turkey,  and  Bulgaria.  With  the  enemies  of 


AMERICAN   IDEALS  551 

Germany,  —  Great  Britain,  France,  Russia,  Italy,  and 
many  smaller  nations,  —  he  recommended  the  most  inti 
mate  cooperation,  but  not  alliance.  His  analysis  of  the 
struggle  as  one  between  democracy  and  autocracy  had  just 
received  striking  confirmation  in  a  democratic  revolution  in 
Russia. 

In  entering  the  Great  War,  the  United  States  seemed  to  American 
many  to  be  breaking  away  from  a  safe  anchorage  in  which  ldeak> 
the  wisdom  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  had  moored  her, 
and  John  Quincy  Adams,  with  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  had 
secured  her.  President  Wilson,  however,  as  spokesman  of 
the  American  people,  made  it  abundantly  evident  that  our 
country  continued  to  seek  the  same  ends  and  to  be  inspired 
by  the  same  purposes  as  in  the  past.  In  his  message  to 
Russia,  June  9,  1917,  he  said:  "No  people  must  be  forced 
under  sovereignty  under  which  it  does  not  wish  to  live.  No 
territory  must  change  hands  except  for  the  purpose  of  secur 
ing  those  who  inhabit  it  a  fair  chance  of  life  and  liberty." 
Such  self-determination  of  peoples,  and  non-intervention 
with  their  domestic  affairs,  has  been  the  aim  of  Americans 
from  the  days  of  John  Winthrop.  In  his  reply  of  August  27, 
1917,  to  the  Pope's  proposal  for  peace,  he  said:  "They  [the 
American  people]  believe  that  peace  should  rest  upon  the 
rights  of  peoples,  not  the  rights  of  Governments.  .  .  .  The 
test,  therefore,  of  every  plan  of  peace  is  this:  Is  it  based 
upon  the  faith  of  all  the  peoples  involved?"  This  is  the 
very  essence  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence:  "That  to 
secure  these  rights,  Governments  are  instituted  among  Men, 
deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed." 

The  means  of  securing  these  purposes  have  ever  varied.   New 
In  the  Revolution  we  were  content  to  secure  them  for  our-  methods- 
selves    alone.    The    experiences    of    the    Napoleonic   wars 
convinced  us  that  we  could  not  safely  anticipate  their  en 
joyment   by   ourselves   unless    they   prevailed    throughout 
the  American  continents.    The  tightening,  by  steam  and 


552  THE  GREAT  WAR 

electricity,  of  the  bonds  which  hold  the  world  together  had 
long  caused  many  to  think  of  the  whole  world  as  that  house 
which  Lincoln  said  "divided  against  itself,  cannot  stand." 
The  aggressions  of  Germany  convinced  President  Wilson 
that  a  world  half  autocratic  and  half  free  cannot  be  "safe 
for  democracy." 

Our  leaders  had  never  taught  that  we  lived  for  ourselves 
alone.  Lincoln  believed  that  the  fundamental  issue  at  stake 
in  the  Civil  War  was  democracy,  that  it  was  our  duty  to 
prove  to  the  world,  for  the  world,  that  democracy  could  be 
efficient;  for  if  it  could  not  govern  our  area,  intended  by 
nature  to  be  one,  it  must  yield  to  such  form  of  government 
as  could.  President  Wilson  believed  that  in  1917  democracy 
must  prove  its  strength  against  autocracy.  If,  through 
division  or  failure  to  organize  its  strength,  democracy  were 
to  fail,  the  world  would  fall  to  the  victor.  To  maintain 
our  deep-seated  ideals,  it  was  no  longer  sufficient  to  separate 
ourselves  and  our  immediate  neighbors  from  Europe.  We 
must  recognize  our  neighborhood  with  the  whole  world.  In 
his  message  to  Russia,  he  said:  "The  brotherhood  of  man 
kind  must  no  longer  be  a  fair  but  empty  phrase ;  it  must  be 
given  a  structure  of  force  and  reality.  The  nations  must 
realize  their  common  life  and  effect  a  workable  partnership 
to  secure  that  life  against  the  aggressions  of  autocratic  and 
self -pleasing  power." 

Navy  and  Two  things  only  could  we  do  at  once ;  send  our  navy  and 

loans.  jen(j  money.    Qur  fleet  was  ready  for  instant  action,  and 

steamed  to  join  the  navies  of  our  associates  in  keeping  open 
the  lanes  of  traffic  against  the  submarines.  Money  we  had 
in  plenty,  but  to  lend  it,  we  had  to  work  out  a  financial  sys 
tem.  It  was  decided  to  raise  funds  in  part  by  increased 
taxation  and  in  part  by  loans.  In  1917,  $2,000,000,000  was 
borrowed  at  3!%,  and  nearly  $4,000,000,000  at  4%;  in 
1918,  $11,000,000,000  at  4^%;  in  1919,  $4,500,000,000  at 
3f%  and  4f%.  Popular  subscription  was  relied  on, 


MILITARY  SERVICE  553 

and  the  "Liberty  Loan"  drives  were  made  campaigns  of 
education  as  to  the  purposes  of  the  war. 

By  an  act  of  October  3,  1917,  income  taxes  were  greatly   Increased 
increased,  particularly  in  the  case  of  large  incomes,  and  other   taxes* 
internal  taxes  were  increased  in  amount  and  variety.     As      J 
many  industries  had  been  stimulated  by  the  war  demands  of 
Europe  for  three  years,  we  could  not  use  the  European  system 
of  taxing  "war  profits,"  but  laid  a  heavy  general  "excess 
profits"  tax.     It  was  estimated  that  these  taxes  would  meet 
one  thirci  of  our  expenses,  a  very  large  ratio  for  a  nation  to 
pay  by  taxation  in  war  time.     Actually  they  produced  a  still 
larger  proportion. 

The  army  was  in  much  better  condition  than  ever  before,  The  army, 
but  was  woefully  unequal  to  the  demands  upon  it.  An 
increase  of  the  regular  army  was  already  provided  for,  and  in 
a  year  it  almost  quadrupled  by  volunteering.  The  National 
Guard,  under  the  act  of  June  3,  1916,  became  at  once,  in  war 
time,  part  of  the  "army  of  the  United  States."  The  main 
reliance  for  numbers,  however,  was  upon  a  selective  service 
draft,  authorized  May  18,  1917.  On  June  5,  9,659,382  men 
between  the  ages  of  21  and  30  were  registered,  from  whom 
men  were  called  to  service  as  the  provisions  for  training  them 
were  created.  Before  the  first  could  be  called,  however,  it 
was  necessary  to  provide  trained  officers.  Officers'  camps 
were  established,  where,  under  rapid  and  skillful  instruction, 
thousands  of  young  Americans  were  given  the  elements  of  the 
profession  of  war.  On  September  12,  1918,  men  between  the 
ages  of  1 8  and  45  were  registered. 

The  chief  contributions  desired  from  the  United  States,   Food  and 
however,  were  food  and  ships.     Three  years  of  the  most  ships" 
devastating  war  the  world  has  ever  seen,  with  the  employ 
ment  of  tens  of  millions  of  the  world's  workers  in  the  battle 
line  and  in  war  industries,  had  produced  a  condition  in  which 
only  by  changes  of  diet  habits,  and  by  most  exact  distribution, 
could  the  world  be  fed.    At  the  same  time  the  enormous  toll 


554 


THE  GREAT  WAR 


Shipping 
policy. 


Control  of 
food,  fuel, 
and  trans 
portation. 


taken  by  the  Submarines  from  the  world's  merchant  tonnage 
threatened  to  sever  us  from  France,  at  the  very  time  when 
we  were  uniting  our  fortunes  with  hers. 

Already  in  1916,  a  Shipping  Board,  with  powers  similar  to 
those  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  had  been 
authorized.  In  April,  1917,  the  United  States  Shipping 
Board  Emergency  Fleet  Corporation,  with  a  capital  of 
$50,000,000  belonging  to  the  national  government,  was 
authorized  to  undertake  ship  construction,  and  a  Shipping 
Committee  of  the  National  Council  of  Defense  was  appointed 
to  establish  full  cooperation  between  public  and  private 
agencies.  Thus  organized,  the  United  States  began  to  be 
again  a  great  shipbuilding  nation. 

The  vital  matter  of  food  production  and  distribution  was 
treated  in  an  act  of  August  10,  1917.  This  gave  extraordi 
nary  powers  to  a  Food  Administrator,  and  the  President 
at  once  appointed  Herbert  C.  Hoover,  who  had  made  an 
undying  record  by  his  administration  of  relief  work  in  invaded 
Belgium.  The  same  act  provided  for  a  Fuel  Administrator, 
to  which  position  President  Harry  A.  Garfield  of  Williams 
College  was  appointed.  In  January,  1918,  the  entire  control 
of  the  railroads  was  taken  over  by  act  of  Congress,  and  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  McAdoo,  Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury.  As  at  the  time  of  the  Civil  War,  emergency  meant 
nationalization  of  effort,  in  fact  internationalization  of  effort. 
It  meant,  also,  public  control.  Hosts  of  other  acts  and  orders 
brought  this  subject  and  that,  prices,  quantity,  quality,  and 
disposition  of  products,  under  regulation.  The  United  States 
became  the  purchaser  for  its  associates,  and  loaned  them 
money  according  to  their  needs. 

Largely  by  our  insistence,  the  control  of  military  opera 
tions  against  the  Germans  was  centralized  in  a  Supreme 
War  Council,  and  General  Foch,  in  the  spring  of  1918,  was 
made  supreme  commander.  Under  stress  of  emergency  the 
forces  within  the  United  States  which  had  been  resisting  the 


CIVIL  SERVICE  555 

logic  of  national  unity  and  world  unity,  collapsed.  The  ques 
tion  of  the  extent  to  which  this  readjustment  would  prove 
permanent  was  left  to  be  determined  after  the  war. 

The  sudden  expansion  of  the  function^  of  the  national  Civil  service, 
government,  and  of  the  scope  of  government,  national  and 
state,  made  it  necessary  to  call  into  public  service  much  of 
the  ability  of  the  country  which  had  previously  been  em 
ployed  privately.  In  part  this  was  done  by  bringing  experts 
in  all  lines  into  the  civil  service,  the  universities  contributing 
a  remarkable  percentage.  Existing  unofficial  organizations 
were  called  in  as  well,  such  as  the  Red  Cross,  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  the 
American  Library  Association,  and  many  others.  A  new 
form  of  organization  was  created  in  the  semi-official  Councils 
of  Defense.  In  August,  1916,  Congress  authorized  a  National 
Council  of  Defense  "for  the  coordination  of  industries  and 
resources  for  the  national  security  and  welfare."  With  the 
outbreak  of  the  war,  every  state  followed  this  national 
example,  and  the  system  was  soon  carried  into  practically 
every  city  and  county.  Through  these  councils  the  busi 
ness  experience  of  the  country  was  largely  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  government,  and  the  mass  of  unaccustomed 
regulations  was  carried  out  and  made  plain  to  the  public. 
To  an  amazing  degree  they  carried  out  their  work  by  simple 
explanation,  without  recourse  to  law  and  far  beyond  the 
limits  of  actual  law. 

This  ready  acceptance  of  the  novel  demands  of  modern  public 
war  indicated  a  popular  approval  of  the  nation's  course  °Pimon- 
which  could  not  be  gainsaid.    To  no  other  war  in  which  the 
United  States  has  engaged,  was  there  so  little  opposition. 
The  most  prominent  of  the  opponents  was  Senator  LaFol- 
lette,  of  Wisconsin,  who  opposed  the  armed  neutrality,  the 
war,   and  the  draft.     In  spite  of  overwhelming  evidence, 
he  claimed  that  the  war  had  been  brought  on  by  capital 
istic  influences,  that  "Germany  had  been  patient  with  us"; 


556  THE  GREAT  WAR 

and  he  sought  to  arouse  distrust  of  the  government's  finan 
cial  policy  and  of  the  nations  associated  with  us.  An 
other  element  of  opposition  came  from  the  Socialists.  This 
party  officially  condemned  the  war;  whereupon  some  of 
the  Socialists,  including  many  of  their  intellectual  leaders, 
left  the  party  and  became  valiant  supporters  of  the  ad 
ministration. 

The  German-  Still  another  body  of  discontent  was  among  the  German- 
born.  For  them  the  situation  was  indeed  painful,  torn  as 
they  were  between  love  of  kindred  and  the  ties  of  their  youth 
on  one  side,  and  their  neighbors  and  their  oath  of  allegiance 
on  the  other.  The  overwhelming  majority  of  the  German- 
born  Americans  were  loyal  in  their  obedience  to  the  law; 
a  majority,  especially  of  the  younger  citizens,  were  loyal  in 
spirit  as  well  as  in  act.  A  few  became  unreconcilable  traitors. 
By  malicious  rumor,  by  incitement  to  disobey  the  draft,  by 
incendiary  fires,  by  tampering  with  our  machines,,  they  de 
layed  our  progress,  deceived  our  associates,  and  caused  the 
death  of  our  men. 

Secret  service      To  meet  these  acts  of  treason,  Congress  passed,  in  June, 
and  censor-      1917,  an  espionage  act,  and  the  administration  developed  our 
secret  service  into  high  efficiency.    To  meet  the  misrepre 
sentations  of  the  opponents  of  the  war,  the  President  estab 
lished,  in  April,  1917,  a  Committee  on  Public  Information, 
to  present  the  facts  of  the  case  to  the  American  public,  and 
to  exercise  also  a  censorship  over  military  information. 
TheWiscon-       As  iQiy  was  not  an  election  year,  there  was  no  definite 
election^"8"1  nation-wide  test  of  public  opinion  concerning  the  govern- 
1918.  ment's  policy.    National  interest  was  high,  therefore,  in  a 

special  election  called  in  Wisconsin  in  March,  1918,  to  fill  a 
vacancy  in  the  United  States  Senate  caused  by  the  death  of 
Paul  Husting,  a  young  and  promising  member  of  that  body. 
That  state  had  for  many  years  supported  Senator  LaFollette, 
and  it  had  a  greater  percentage  of  German  population  than 
any  other  state  in  the  Union.  The  Socialist  party  denounced 


MILITARY  SITUATION  557 

the  war,  and  advocated  the  immediate  withdrawal  of  our 
army  from  France.  The  LaFollette  candidate,  running  for 
the  Republican  nomination,  counseled  obedience  to  the 
law,  and  presented  no  program  of  action  except  heavier 
taxation.  Loyalty  candidates  in  both  Republican  and  The  war 
Democratic  parties  indorsed  President  Wilson's  war  policy  mdorsed- 
and  pledged  him  their  full  support.  The  results  showed  that 
the  genuine  Socialists  had  not  much  changed  in  numbers  as 
a  result  of  the  war,  constituting  about  15%  of  the  electorate. 
Sixty  or  seventy  thousand  Germans  who  voted  for  the 
LaFollette  candidate  in  the  primaries,  voted  in  the  regular 
election  for  the  Socialist  candidate,  thus  proving  that  racial 
ties  counted  for  more  with  them  than  political  views  or 
those  of  religion,  for  most  of  them  belonged  to  parties  and 
religious  bodies  strongly  opposed  to  the  social  doctrines  of 
socialism.  These  elements,  however,  did  not  constitute  a 
majority  of  the  German  element,  and,  combined,  amounted 
to  only  about  one  quarter  of  the  state's  voters.  This  vote, 
in  the  state  where  the  opposing  elements  seemed  strongest, 
indicated  that  the  nation  was  united  as  never  before. 

When  the  United  States  entered  the  war,  the  military  Military 
situation  of  the  Allies  was  very  strong.  The  armies  of  France 
and  England  seemed  invulnerable,  and  had  for  some  time 
been  edging  the  German  army  slowly  back.  Russia  in  spite 
of  her  defeats  seemed  solidly  to  block  Germany  from  the 
resources  of  the  East,  and  the  Russian  Revolution  was  held 
to  have  finally  overthrown  all  pro-German  influences,  and 
to  have  given  a  new  inspiration  for  the  fight  of  democracy 
against  autocracy.  It  was  believed  that  the  Allied  lines 
would  hold,  if  only  the  United  States  could  help  defeat,  by 
naval  activity  and  by  the  building  of  ships,  the  submarine 
which  was  cutting  the  world  in  two,  and  could  furnish  sup 
plies  of  food,  money,  and  munitions.  In  the  meantime,  the 
United  States  was  to  organize  with  care  and  reasonable  de 
liberation  her  vast  military  resources,  to  throw  them  when 


558 


THE   GREAT  WAR 


The 

American 

program. 


Situation  at 
the  end  of 
1917. 


fully  prepared  into  the  last  effort  to  crush  the  German  line 
of  defense. 

While,  therefore,  the  first  United  States  destroyers  reached 
Europe  on  May  4,  1917,  under  the  command  of  Admiral 
Sims,  and  the  first  American  troops  arrived  in  France  on 
June  26,  these  efforts  were  regarded  rather  as  testimonials 
of  good  will  than  effective  contributions,  and  the  national 
energy  was  chiefly  directed  to  the  training  of  millions,  to 
the  creation  of  shipyards  out  of  mud  flats,  to  the  establish 
ment  of  giant  factories,  to  the  undertaking  of  great  projects 
of  research,  and  to  all  the  apparatus  of  colossal  production 
on  the  American  system  of  standardized  parts,  all  of  which 
when  in  operation  would  crush  Germany  by  their  very  weight. 
This  program  for  an  overwhelming  and  united  effort  could 
but  mean  victory  in  the  end,  if  the  Allied  lines  held ;  it  con 
trasted  with  the  other  possible  policy  of  immediate  production 
on  a  small  scale,  calculated  to  plug  a  line  that  showed  signs 
of  breaking. 

With  the  autumn  of  191 7  the  European  situation  changed,  at 
first  gradually,  and  then  with  startling  rapidity.  The  con 
trol  of  the  Russian  Revolution  rapidly  shifted  from  the  hands 
of  the  experienced  statesmen,  the  Cadets,  into  those  of  the 
meteoric  Kerensky,  who,  with  an  idealism  that  failed  to 
inspire  the  people,  tried  to  renew  the  Russian  military  of 
fensive.  The  Russian  peasants,  however,  demanded  peace ; 
the  workmen,  vengeance  on  the  classes  that  had  oppressed 
them.  On  November  4  Kerensky  was  overthrown  by  the 
Bolsheviki,  who,  led  by  Lenine  and  Trotzky,  signed  on 
December  15  at  Brest-Litovsk  an  armistice  with  Germany 
that  freed  her  armies  in  the  east,  and  seemed  likely  to  throw 
open  to  her  the  whole  resources  of  eastern  Europe.  Even 
before  this  absolute  release  of  her  forces,  the  gradually 
diminishing  pressure  of  Russia  had  enabled  the  Central 
Powers  to  undertake  a  drive  against  the  Italian  front  which 
threatened  the  whole  of  northern  Italy,  and  actually  pene- 


GERMAN  DRIVE  OF  1918  559 

trated  to  the  line  of  the  Piave,  which  was  a  weak  natural 
barrier  to  their  continued  advance.  The  arms  of  the  Allies 
made  progress  only  in  western  Asia,  where  the  capture  of 
Jerusalem  on  December  9  was  but  small  compensation  for 
what  had  been  lost  in  Russia  and  Italy. 

When  the  year  1917  closed,  therefore,  the  superficial  situa 
tion  favored  the  Central  Powers.  They  had  eliminated  one 
of  the  three  great  separated  masses  opposing  them,  and 
cleared  one  of  their  fronts.  The  future,  however,  was  not 
promising  to  them.  Russia  was  too  demoralized  to  afford 
them  resources,  and  their  submarine  campaign  had  failed 
in  its  purpose  of  cutting  America  from  Europe.  Already  the 
European  Allies  were  invigorated  by  American  financial 
aid,  their  food  supplies  were  maintained,  and  they  were 
inspirited  by  the  promise  of  the  future.  The  leaders  of  the 
Central  Powers  realized  that  their  only  hope  lay  in  utilizing 
the  advantages  of  their  military  release  on  the  east  to  crush 
the  western  line  before  the  military  power  of  the  United 
States  gathered  in  strength  behind  it. 

With  masterly  technique  though  without  the  simple  direct-  The  German 
ness  which  characterizes  the  military  genius  of  great  military  lve  c 
leaders,  General  Ludendorff  proceeded  to  make  the  final 
gamble.  On  March  21,  1918,  he  began  his  great  drive,  at 
tempting  to  separate  the  French  and  British  armies ;  when 
he  failed  to  take  Amiens,  his  ultimate  failure  was  probably 
determined,  but  with  skill  and  desperation  he  continued 
his  attacks,  first  against  the  British  line  to  the  north,  and 
then,  in  May,  against  the  French  to  the  south,  advancing 
directly  toward  Paris.  These  attacks  were  accompanied 
by  every  concomitant  of  force  and  terror.  On  March  23 
"Big  Bertha"  began  to  bombard  Paris  from  a  distance  of 
75  miles,  and  air  raids  deprived  the  citizens  of  Paris  and 
London  of  sleep  night  after  night.  The  courage  and  the 
confidence  of  the  Allies  never  failed,  but  many  anticipated 
the  capture  cf  Paris,  and  over  a  million  people  left  the  city. 


560 


THE   GREAT  WAR 


American 
forces  to  the 
rescue. 


Allied 
victories. 


It  was  evident  that  the  power  of  the  United  States  must 
be  transmuted  from  a  threat  to  an  actuality.  On  March  27 
General  Pershing  offered  the  services  of  American  troops, 
although  not  yet  organized  into  army  units,  wherever  needed. 
In  fact,  Americans  had  first  clashed  with  the  Germans  as 
early  as  November  3,  1917,  but  the  larger  number  had  been 
kept  back  for  training  and  organization.  Now,  however, 
those  in  France  were  hurried  into  the  lines,  brigaded  with 
the  French  or  British,  wherever  the  stress  was  greatest. 
American  marines  and  soldiers  at  and  near  Chateau-Thierry 
helped  to  stop  the  advance  on  Paris;  and  on  June  25 
they  held  the  Germans  at  Belleau  Woods,  a  turning  point 
of  the  campaign.  Meantime  the  American  program  was 
speeded  up,  and  in  June  troops  began  to  cross  the  Atlantic 
in  numbers  that  had  been  held  to  be  impossible.  The  British 
cut  down  other  services  to  furnish  additional  ships,  and  con 
voys  swept  across  the  ocean,  laden  beyond  any  capacity  to 
afford  more  than  bare  resting  room  for  the  men.  In  spite 
of  convoys,  two  ships,  the  Tuscania  and  the  Otranto,  were 
lost  with  many  lives ;  and  hundreds  of  influenza  victims, 
on  ships  and  in  camps,  made  the  final  sacrifice  as  truly  in 
the  line  of  duty  as  those  killed  at  the  front. 

With  these  fresh  forces  assembling,  Marshal  Foch  was 
enabled  to  anticipate  the  time  when  the  numerical  balance 
of  effectives  would  be  in  his  favor.  The  Germans  had  forced 
a  salient  to  the  Marne  between  Rheims,  which  the  French 
still  held,  and  the  outskirts  of  Soissons,  which  had  fallen. 
On  July  15  they  began  their  fifth  and  last  drive  from  the 
east  side  of  this  salient;  on  July  18  Marshal  Foch  sent  his 
prepared  American  and  French  forces  against  the  west  side. 
The  Allies  drove  steadily  onward,  and  by  August  3  they 
obliterated  the  salient  after  bitter  and  costly  fighting,  which 
probably  sealed  the  fate  of  the  German  Empire.  Allied 
attack  followed  attack  without  ceasing,  the  superb  genius 
of  Marshal  Foch  creating  salient  after  salient,  from  which 


VICTORY  OF  THE  ALLIES  561 

the  Germans  were  forced  to  withdraw.  On  August  8  the 
British,  assisted  by  French  and  American  units,  began  a 
drive  from  the  west.  On  August  20  a  French  drive,  which 
again  included  American  troops,  began  from  the  south. 
On  September  13  the  Americans  cleared  the  obstinate 
St.  Mihiel  salient,  and  on  September  22  began  the  arduous 
task  of  driving  the  Germans  from  the  Argonne,  which  ended 
in  the  capture  of  Sedan  on  the  eve  of  the  armistice. 

In  the  meantime  fighting  intensified  almost  from  end  to 
end  of  the  inhabited  globe.  Russia  separated  into  hostile 
communities  and  factions,  and  in  August  Allied  forces  entered 
her  vast  territory  at  Archangel,  Vladivostok,  and  Baku,  to 
assist  the  Czecho-Slovaks  who,  deserting  the  Austrian  army 
and  afterward  organized  in  the  Russian  army,  found  them 
selves  nqw  in  Siberia  beset  by  the  Bolsheviki.  On  Septem 
ber  19  General  Allenby  began  an  attack  on  the  Turks  in 
Syria,  which  swept  forward  at  cavalry  speed  until  he  had  early 
in  November  cleared  the  whole  Syrian  coast,  and  broken 
the  line  of  the  Berlin-Bagdad  railroad.  Meanwhile  the 
British  forces  in  Mesopotamia  had  cut  the  Turks  from 
Persia.  On  September  i  the  British,  French,  Serbians, 
Greeks,  and  Italians  began  a  month  of  fierce  and  victorious 
fighting  on  the  Macedonian  front.  On  October  30  the 
Italians  let  loose  their  torrential  drive  against  the  Austrians. 

The  Central  Powers  had  lost  their  final  gamble,  and  the  Surrender  of 
imposing  edifice  of  their  power  rapidly  cracked  and  fell  under 
these  blows.  The  first  indication  of  weakening  came  on 
September  27,  when  Bulgaria  applied  to  the  British  govern 
ment  for  an  armistice  which  was  granted  on  September  30, 
the  terms  amounting  to  unconditional  surrender.  On 
October  7  Austria  offered  immediate  peace  on  the  basis  of 
President  Wilson's  addresses,  but  he  replied  on  October  19 
that  the  recognition  of  the  freedom  of  the  Czecho-Slovaks 
by  the  United  States  had  created  new  conditions.  On 
October  14  Turkey  announced  that  she  must  conclude  peace, 


562 


THE   GREAT  WAR 


Germany 
begs  for 
peace. 


Revolution 
in  Germany. 


and  an  armistice  on  terms  similar  to  those  dictated  to  Bul 
garia  was  soon  arranged.  On  November  4  Austria  accepted 
similar  terms.  Meanwhile,  on  September  30,  Prince  Maxi 
milian  of  Baden  became  Chancellor  of  the  German  Empire, 
and  on  October  5  he  began  negotiations  for  peace.  He  at 
tempted  to  create  a  rift  between  the  United  States  and  the 
Allies,  by  asking  President  Wilson  to  act  as  intermediary. 
The  latter  saw  and  escaped  the  trap,  but  he  kept  open  the 
line  of  negotiation  to  serve  the  ends  of  all.  On  October  10 
the  British  packet  Leinster  was  sunk  by  a  submarine,  with 
the  loss  of  480  lives,  and  during  the  early  days  of  October 
the  Germans  in  withdrawing  from  northern  France  indulged 
in  an  orgy  of  destruction.  President  Wilson  pointed  out 
the  inconsistency  of  such  action  with  a  sincere  desire  for 
peace,  and  brought  an  end  to  indiscriminate  submarine  war 
fare  and  the  policy  of  destroying  private  property  on  land. 
He  caused  the  German  government  to  make  its  offers  pre 
cise,  and  he  stated  on  October  23 :  "If  we  must  deal  with 
the  present  Imperial  Government  of  Germany,  we  cannot 
trust  it,  and  must  demand  surrender."  Finally,  having 
clarified  the  situation,  without  committing  the  United  States, 
he  informed  the  German  government  that  he  would  take 
up  the  question  of  an  armistice  with  his  co-belligerents. 

With  the  failure  of  the  German  Imperial  plans,  the  internal 
weakness  of  the  empire,  sustained  as  it  was  by  force,  became 
apparent.  In  Austria  the  Czecho-Slovaks  proclaimed  and 
established  the  independence  of  Bohemia  and  neighboring 
districts.  The  Jugo-Slavs  did  the  same  in  the  south,  captur 
ing  the  Austrian  fleet  on  November  3*  Hungary,  on  October 
27,  moved  toward  independence.  In  Germany,  violent 
revolutionary  forces  began  to  show  themselves  on  the  surface. 
On  November  8  Bavaria  declared  herself  a  republic,  and  on 
November  9  William  Hohenzollern  renounced  the  thrones 
of  Germany  and  Prussia,  and  the  next  day  fled  to  Holland, 
the  pack  of  German  princelings  falling  with  him. 


WILSON'S  FOURTEEN  POINTS  563 

On  November  1 1  German  envoys,  representing  a  govern-  Armistice  of 
ment  headed  by  Frederick  Ebert  as  Chancellor  and  relying  IIt  X9Ig.r 
upon  the  support  of  the  "citizens"  of  Germany,  signed  an 
armistice  the  terms  of  which  were  dictated  by  Marshal  Foch 
and  Admiral  Wemyss  as  military,  representatives  of  the 
Allied  and  associated  nations.  The  terms  included  the 
surrender  of  almost  the  entire  German  fleet  and  immense 
military  stores,  and  the  military  occupation  of  the  left  bank 
of  the  Rhine  with  bridgeheads  and  a  neutral  zone  beyond. 
They  gave  practically  complete  military  control  to  the  armies 
dictating  the  terms. 

In  demanding  and  accepting  these  armistice  terms,  both  Wilson's 
sides  agreed  that  the  final  peace  should  be  concluded  on  the 
basis  of  President  Wilson's  "fourteen  points"  with  certain 
clarifications  and  qualifications.  These  points  included  the 
abolition  of  secret  treaties;  equality,  so  far  as  possible,  of 
trade  conditions;  reduction  of  armaments;  a  settlement  of 
the  question  of  captured  colonies  according  to  the  interest 
of  their  populations;  self-determination  for  Russia;  the 
evacuation  and  restoration  of  Belgium  and  northern  France ; 
the  restoration  of  Alsace-Lorraine  to  France;  the  readjust 
ment  of  the  Italian  boundary  to  include  within  Italy  the  area 
Italian  in  population;  self-determination  for  the  peoples 
| of  Austria-Hungary;  the  evacuation  and  restoration  of 
Roumania,  Serbia,  and  Montenegro ;  self-determination 
for  the  peoples  of  the  Turkish  Empire ;  and  an  independent 
Poland.  President  Wilson  stated  that  by  restoration  he 
intended  the  fullest  possible  indemnification  for  the  ravages 
of  the  cruel  and  illegal  warfare  which  Germany  had  con 
ducted,  not  only  in  the  regions  particularly  indicated  but 
everywhere  on  land  and  sea.  The  Allied  nations  stated  that 
they  reserved  judgment  on  President  Wilson's  second  point 
— " Absolute  freedom  of  navigation  upon  the  sea."  All 
agreed  to  his  final  point  —  "A  general  association  of  nations 
must  be  formed,  under  specific  covenants  for  the  purpose  of 


564 


THE  CHEAT  WAR 


The  peace 
commission 


The  Peace 

Conference 


affording  mutual  guarantees  of  political  independence  and 
territorial  integrity  to  great  and  small  states  alike." 

In  December,  President  Wilson  went  to  Europe  to  take  part 
personally  in  the  peace  negotiations,  thus  breaking  once 
more  the  traditions  attaching  to  his  office.  On  the  American 
Peace  Commission,  besides  the  President,  were  the  Secretary 
of  State,  Robert  Lansing ;  Henry  White,  who  had  the  longest 
record  of  foreign  service  of  any  living  American ;  and  Colonel 
House.  They  were  accompanied  by  a  large  staff  of  experts 
who  had,  since  the  beginning  of  war,  been  studying  the 
problems  involved  in  peace. 

The  Peace  Conference  which  met  at  Paris  and  Versailles 
during  the  first  five  months  of  1918,  is  comparable  only  with 
that  at  Vienna  in  1815.  It  was  more  numerous  in  personnel 
and  it  represented  a  greater  portion  of  the  world;  whether 
its  results  will  prove  as  important  is  a  matter  for  the  future 
to  determine.  A  very  striking  difference  lay  in  the  fact  that 
the  defeated  nations  were  not  represented;  it  was  a  confer 
ence  of  the  victorious  nations,  allied,  as  Great  Britain,  France, 
and  Italy,  or  associated,  as  the  United  States,  to  draw  up 
terms  to  be  submitted  to  the  four  nations  that  had  been 
beaten.  While  cases  were  presented  by  all  the  [nations  rep 
resented,  and  by  peoples,  like  the  Bohemians,  long  politically 
submerged  but  who  hoped  to  become  independent,  the  deci 
sions  came  to  rest  more  and  more  with  the  chiefs  of  the  four 
most  important  states:  Lloyd  George,  Prime  Minister  of 
Great  Britain,  Clemenceau,  Prime  Minister  of  France, 
Orlando,  Prime  Minister  of  Italy,  and  Woodrow  Wilson, 
President  of  the  United  States. 

President  Wilson's  diplomatic  skill  and  success  will  remain 
a  question  until  a  century  has  brought  to  light  all  the  secret 
memoirs  of  the  conference,  if,  indeed,  they  will  not  always 
remain  matters  of  opinion.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  how 
ever,  that  he  was  the  central  figure  of  the  conference.  Nearly 
every  problem  that  arose  involved  some  one  of  his  fourteen 


THE  TREATY  WITH  GERMANY  565 

points,  and  throughout,  he  was  contending  that  some  practi 
cal  scheme  for  the  organization  of  a  League  of  Nations  be 
included  in  the  final  treaty.  The  result  was,  as  was  inevit 
able  where  so  many  partners  were  represented,  compromise. 
The  League  of  Nations  was  included,  but  some  of  the  fourteen 
points  were  seriously  blunted,  especially,  perhaps,  in  the  case 
of  the  rights  conceded  Japan  in  the  Shantung  peninsula. 

The  treaties  drawn  up  by  the  conference  for  the  four  The  treaty 
defeated  nations  were  ultimately  accepted  by  those  nations  Senate 
and  by  the  Allies.  The  German  treaty,  however,  in  the 
United  States  became  the  basis  for  one  of  the  fiercest  political 
contests  in  our  history.  Before  leaving  for  Europe,  President 
Wilson  had  asked  the  people  to  strengthen  his  hands  by 
electing  a  Democratic  Congress.  This  request  caused  bitter 
resentment,  and  was  in  itself  one  of  the  causes  for  the  return 
in  November,  1918,  of  a  large  Republican  majority  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  and  a  small  one  in  the  Senate. 
Criticism  of  the  President,  partly  vindictively  personal,  and 
partly  for  his  ignoring  of  the  Senate  in  the  negotiations, 
became  intense,  the  leader  of  the  critics  being  Senator  Lodge 
of  Massachusetts.  This  criticism  was  extended  to  the  treaty 
when  it  was  submitted  to  the  Senate  and  its  terms  became 
known.  To  one  group  who  may  be  called  the  conservatives, 
the  idea  of  a  League  of  Nations  seemed  a  departure  from  the 
principles  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  without  being  an  effective 
substitute.  To  the  liberal  or  radical  group  the  provisions 
for  reparations,  annexations,  mandatories,  and  particularly 
the  practical  control  of  the  Sarre  Valley  given  to  the 
French,  seemed  the  negation  of  those  hopes  for  a  new  world 
that  had  burned  so  high  when  Wilson  went  abroad  in  1918. 

The  Senate  divided  into  three  overlapping  groups.  Some 
Democratic  senators  stood  for  the  acceptance  of  the  treaty 
as  it  stood;  some  Republican  senators  favored  the  cutting 
out  of  all  reference  to  the  League  of  Nations;  moderates  of 
both  parties  strove  for  amendments  which  would  make 


566  THE  GREAT  WAR 

certain  the  possibility  that  the  United  States  could  continue 
her  old  policy  of  avoiding  foreign  entanglements.  The  bone 
of  contention  was  Article  X,  which,  while  somewhat  vaguely 
worded,  seemed  to  imply  an  obligation  upon  each  signatory 
power  to  active  maintainance  of  the  territorial  integrity  of 
all  the  others. 

The  President,  as  had  been  his  custom,  appealed  directly 
to  the  people  to  compel  the  Senate  to  accept  the  treaty  as  a 
whole.  While  the  treaty  was  still  in  formation  he  had  made 
a  hasty  trip  to  the  United  States  to  prepare  the  way,  and  in 
August,  1919,  he  started  upon  a  nation-wide  campaign.  In 
the  midst  of  this  campaign,  worn  out  by  the  strain  of  the 
past  five  years,  he  was  stricken  by  a  shock  from  which  he 
did  not  completely  recover  during  the  remainder  of  his  term. 
It  is  not  probable  that  he  could  have  forced  the  treaty 
through  without  amendment.  With  him  removed,  it  was 
utterly  impossible.  The  extreme  groups  could  not  be  brought 
together  by  compromise,  and  on  November  19,  1919,  the 
treaty  was  rejected  by  a  vote  of  38  for  the  treaty  to  53 
against  it. 

It  was  a  dreary  period  of  United  States  history  that  fol 
lowed  the  illness  of  President  Wilson.  There  was  a  political 
stalemate  between  the  executive  and  legislative  departments, 
and  this  was  aggravated  by  a  personal  hostility  almost  as 
keen  as  in  the  days  of  President  Johnson.  The  executive 
was  blunted  in  its  action  by  the  incapacity  of  its  head,  and 
for  some  time,  until  the  substitution  of  Bainbridge  Colby 
for  Robert  Lansing  as  Secretary  of  State  early  in  1920,  by 
divided  purposes.  The  result  was  that  the  necessary  mea 
sures  of  reconstruction  were  blocked,  almost  the  only  im 
portant  piece  of  legislation  being  the  Esch-Cummings  Act 
which  restored  the  railroads  to  private  ownership. 

With  the  government  in  deadlock,  political  interest 
centered  in  the  coming  presidential  election.  The  Demo 
crats,  meeting  at  San  Francisco,  nominated  Governor  Cox 


THE  ELECTION  OF  1920  567 

of  Ohio,  who  had  a  good  record  for  executive  efficiency  during 
the  war,  and  who  supported  the  general  policy  of  President 
Wilson,  but  was  somewhat  more  willing  to  accept  amend 
ments  to  the  treaty.  There  was  a  widespread  popular 
movement  for  Mr.  Hoover,  whose  handling  of  the  food 
administration  had  made  his  name  a  household  word  through 
out  the  world.  He  ultimately  declared  himself  a  Republi 
can,  but  the  presidential  primaries  held  in  various  states 
indorsed  rather,  General  Wood,  Governor  Lowden  of  Illinois, 
and  Senator  Johnson  of  California.  The  Republican  con 
vention,  which  met  at  Chicago,  rejected  all  these  expressions 
of  the  popular  will,  and  selected  Senator  Harding  of  Ohio, 
a  man  little  known  in  the  country  at  large,  but  well  approved 
by  the  colleagues  with  whom  he  had  worked  in  the  Senate. 

The  campaign  was  unsatisfactory  from  the  point  of  view  president 
of  definition  of  issue,  and  of  popular  discussion.  The  Repub 
licans  did  not  definitely  reject  the  idea  of  a  League  of  Nations, 
but  attacked  rather  the  President's  assumption  of  power. 
Dissatisfaction  with  both  candidates  gave  rise  to  much  talk 
of  a  third  party,  but  the  different  dissatisfied  groups  proved 
to  be  irreconcilable  among  themselves,  and  their  vote  was 
divided  among  a  Farmer-Labor,  a  Socialist,  and  other 
candidates.  The  election  showed  the  wisdom  of  the  Republi 
cans  in  offering  the  country  a  program  of  quiet  and  restora 
tion  of  normal  conditions.  Mr.  Harding  was  elected  by  an 
overwhelming  majority,  which  swept  even  into  the  "Solid 
South"  and  carried  Tennessee,  the  first  of  the  eleven  states 
declaring  secession  in  1861  to  vote  Republican  since  the 
obscuration  of  the  negro  vote.  On  March  4,  1921,  he  took 
office,  confronted  by  many  problems  of  domestic  reconstruc 
tion  and  by  the  task  of  making  peace  with  Germany,  and  of 
formulating  a  foreign  policy  to  take  the  place  of  that  of 
President  Wilson,  which  had  been  rejected  in  the  elections 
of  1918  and  1920. 

In  the  presidential  election  of  1920  women,  for  the  first 


568 


THE  GREAT  WAR 


ments. 


Historical 
accounts. 


-  time>  voted  in  a11  the  states  bX  virtue  of  the  Nineteenth 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution,  which  was  ratified  in 
August,  1920.  The  Eighteenth  Amendment,  prohibiting 
the  manufacture  or  sale  of  intoxicating  liquor  for  beverage 
purposes,  had  been  adopted  early  in  1919. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES 

^^  ^ar  Message  and  the  Facts  Behind  It,  Committee  on  Public 
Information,  Washington.  First  Session  of  the  War  Congress, 
Ibid.  War  Cyclopedia,  Ibid.  Robinson,  E.  E.,  and  West,  V.  J., 
The  Foreign  Policy  of  Woodrow  Wilson,  N.  Y.,  1917.  Dillon, 
E.  J.,  The  Inside  Story  of  the  Peace  Conference,  N.  Y.,  1920. 

Every  teacher  should  secure  the  various  publications  of  the 
Committee  on  Public  Information.  The  History  Teachers  Maga 
zine  has  given  very  valuable  material  and  bibliography  on  the 
war.  Current  History,  published  by  the  New  York  Times,  con 
tains  important  documents  and  articles. 


INDEX 


Abolitionists,  settle  in  Kansas,  340;    welcome 

secession,  367.  See  Antislavery. 
Adams,  Charles  F.,  Minister  to  England,  387 ;  in 
Trent  affair,  388 ;  diplomatist,  429 ;  cited,  388. 
Adams,  John,  Minister  to  England,  23 ;  obtains 
Dutch  loan,  24;  Vice  President,  46,  47,  70, 
74;  President,  75;  cabinet,  75,  80;  diplo 
matic  problems,  76,  77 ;  relations  with  Hamil 
ton,  78-81,  83;  removals,  78,  91;  sends 
commission  to  France,  79 ;  restores  neutrality, 
80,84;  presidential  candidate,  8  r  ;  appoint 
ments,  84,  92;  son,  135;  cited,  48. 
Adams,  John  Q.,  peace  commission,  126;  joins 
Republicans,  135 ;  internal  improvements,  135, 
178,  192,  210;  presidential  candidate,  162, 
175,  178,  182,  231;  Secretary  of  State,  162, 
172,  175;  ability,  162,  226;  discusses  seces 
sion,  1 66 ;  arranges  Florida  purchase,  169 ;  op 
poses  English  alliance,  170,  172;  electoral 
vote,  175,  176,  182,  186,  218;  chosen  by 
House,  176;  character,  177,  178;  supports 
civil  service,  178;  foreign  policy,  179;  Indian 
policy,  179,  180;  tariff,  181,  204;  secret  socie 
ties,  216;  diplomatist,  226-228,  493;  member 
of  Congress,  228;  Mexican  negotiation,  228; 
opposes  Independent  Treasury,  237;  fights 
for  right  of  petition,  296 ;  constructive  views, 
396;  Pan-American  policy,  462,  483;  cited, 
244,  400. 

Adams,  Samuel,  Revolutionary  leader,  33 ;  dis 
approves  Constitution,  41. 

Addams,  Jane,  social  work,  513. 

Adet,  Pierre  A.,  French  minister,  75 ;  schemes 
for  West,  75,  76. 

Agriculture,  in  South,  6,  267 ;  in  Middle  States, 
9,  136 ;  embargo  injures,  106 ;  New  England, 
J34-I36;  use  of  McCormick  reaper,  267  ;  im 
proved  methods,  269 ;  readjustment  in  South, 
433-435 ;  expansion  in  area,  439,  474 ;  Granger 
movement,  456,  474,  475;  doubles  produc 
tion,  500,  501 ;  irrigation  extends,  502,  503. 

Agriculture,  National  Bureau  of,  established, 
396;  trouble  in,  529. 

Aguinaldo,  Emilio,  Philippine  leader,  490,  491. 

Alabama,  Confederate  cruiser,  386 ;  claims,  424- 
426. 

Alabama,  cotton  cultivation,  144,  146;  immi 
gration,  146;  admitted  to  Union,  146,  164; 
Indian  lands,  179,  191;  population,  192; 
nullification  convention  proposed,  205;  elec 
toral  vote,  218;  extradition  trouble,  293; 
secedes,  364;  invaded,  392;  public  domain, 
438. 

Alaska,  purchase,  423,  486;  boundary,  496; 
territory,  502;  coal  lands,  529. 

Albany  (N.  Y.),  trade,  135. 

Albany  Regency,  political  ring,  150,  236. 

Aldrich,  Sen.  Nelson  B.,  protectionist,  472; 
tariff  bill,  526;  retires,  528. 


Aldrich  Monetary  Commission,  functions,  508. 
Aldrich-Vreeland  Bill,  passed,  523. 
Alger,  Russell  A.,  Secretary  of  War,  519. 
Alien  Contract  Law,  protects  labor,  459,  469. 
Alien  Law,  Federalist  measure,  77  ;  Republicans 

attack,  87;   expires,  94. 
Allison,  Sen.  William  B.,  Congressional  leader, 

420;  death,  528. 

Altgeld,  Gov.  J.  P.,  in  Pullman  strike,  478. 
Amazon  River,  attempt  to  open,  334. 
Ambassador,  diplomatic  grade  created,  496. 
Amelia  Island,  pirates,  169. 
American  Federation  of  Labor,  founded,  459. 
American  party,  policy,  273,  339,  343 ;  successes, 
338 ;  slavery  divides,  338-340,  343 ;   nomina 
tions,  344 ;   in  election  of  1858,  351 ;   becomes 
Constitutional  Union  party,  356. 
"American    system,"   devised    by    Clay,    149; 

partly  adopted,  255. 

Ames,  Fisher,  urges  tariff,  51;    friend  of  Eng 
land,  65,  70;   cited,  52,  65. 
Amiens,  treaty  of,  95. 
Amnesty  proclamations,  403,  408. 
Amusements,  in  1840,  247. 
Amy  Warwick,  court  decision,  387. 
Andrew,  Gov.  John  A.,  aids  Lincoln,  381. 
Annapolis   (Md.),  commercial  convention,  32; 

route  via,  369. 

Antietam  (Md.),  battle,  390,  392,  400. 
Anti-Federalists,  origin  of  name,  40 ;  leaders,  42. 
Antimasons,  form  party,  216;   alliances,   232, 

245,  246. 

Antislavery,  Quakers  lead  agitation,  25 ;  in  Vir 
ginia  and  Maryland,  141,  291;  societies,  rise 
and  decline,  164,  291 ;  growth  of  sentiment, 
243, 289,  290,  295,  298, 330;  Kentucky, 291; 
New  England  Abolition  Society,  293;  Na 
tional,  293;  northern  opposition,  294;  fac 
tions  in  party,  295 ;  war  develops  sentiment, 
398,  399. 

Appalachian  Mountains,  passes,  9 ;  minerals,  9 ; 
character   of   settlers,    146;     effect   on   war 
operations,  389. 
Appomattox  Court  House  (Va.),  Lee's  surrender, 

391- 

Arbitration,  of  Civil  War  claims,  425,  429; 
Venezuelan,  484 ;  Spanish-American  disputes, 
496;  United  States  attitude,  496;  deadlock, 
529. 

Arbitration  Commission  (1871),  decisions,  388. 
Architecture,  in  America,  282,  283. 
Argentine    Confederation,   treaty,   334;    trade 

rivals,  514.  _ 
Arizona,  in  Civil  War,  371;   admission  denied, 

471 ;   admitted,  502. 

Arkansas,  Indian  title  extinguished,  179;  ad 
mission  to  Union,  231,  276,  335;  transporta 
tion,  266;  Oregon  emigrants,  278;  secedes, 
368;  military  governor,  413 ;  reconstruction, 


Xlll 


INDEX 


404,  408;    farms  increase,  439;    population, 

501. 

Army,  Jefferson  reduces,  94;  1812,  116;  re 
organized,  524;  in  1917,  553.  See  Northern 

Army,  Southern  Army. 
"Aroostook  War,"  boundary  dispute,  259. 
Arthur,    Chester   A.,    succeeds    Garfield,    462; 

reputation,  462 ;    Collector  of  Customs,  462 ; 

navy  policy,  471. 
Articles  of  Confederation,  looseness  of  bond,  2, 

14,   15,   29,  37;    provisions,   13-15,   *?,   23; 

amendments  proposed,  32,  40;    signers,  33; 

how  adopted,  39. 

Ashburton,  Lord,  negotiates  treaty,  257-260. 
Assumption  of  state  debts,  83. 
Atchison,  David  R.,  Missouri  Senator,  335. 
Atlanta  (Ga.),  manufactures  war  supplies,  376; 

railroad  communications,  393,  394;   capture, 

394,  405. 

Atlantic  cable,  effects,  441. 
Audubqn,  John  J.,  scientist,  283. 
Australia,    government    methods,    507;     trade 

rival,  514. 

Australian  ballot,  adoption,  465. 
Austria,   French  relations,  97 ;    Webster  and, 

327;  emigrants,  513. 

Babcock,  Gen.  Orvill  E.,  charges  against,  444. 

Baldwin,  Gov.  Simeon  E.,  presidential  candi 
date,  532. 

Ballinger,  R.  A.,  Secretary  of  Interior,  525; 
Pinchot  controversy,  529. 

Baltic  Sea,  trade,  334. 

Baltimore,  important  port,  8,  9, 132 ;  flour  trade, 
119;  British  attack,  12.3;  rivals,  138,  139; 
bank  notes  discounted,  156;  newspaper,  160; 
Antimasonic  convention,  216;  Democratic 
conventions,  217,  230,  244,  319,  354,  532; 
clippers,  270;  "Washington  movement," 
288;  secession  mob,  369;  Republican  con 
vention,  405. 

Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  effect  on  trade, 
139;  rivals  waterways,  266. 

Bancroft,  George,  Secretary  of  Navy,  308 ;  ar 
ranges  German  treaties,  426. 

Bank  of  North  America,  founded,  24. 

Bankruptcy,  national  law,  78;  repeal,  94; 
state  laws,  130;  bill  defeated,  161 ;  unau 
thorized,  234;  law  of  1840,  255. 

Banks,  national  control,  223,  396;  state,  237- 
240;  Chase  proposes  national,  382,  383.  See 
Currency,  United  States  Bank. 

Banks,  Nathaniel  P.,  Speaker,  340. 

Baptists,  growth,  153 ;   divide,  298. 

Barbary  States,  pirates,  22;  war  with,  102. 
See  Corsairs. 

Barlow,  Joel,  Minister  to  France,  113. 

"Barnburners,"  Democratic  faction,  319. 

Bates,  Edward,  Attorney-General,  380.^ 

Baton  Rouge  (La.),  United  States  acquires,  in. 

Bayard,  James  A.,  peace  commissioner,  126. 

Bayard,  Thomas  F.,  Secretary  of  State,  464. 

Bayard  v.  Singleton,  cited,  25. 

Beauregard,  Gen.  P.  G.  T.,  at  Shiloh,  392. 

Belknap,  Gen.  W.  W.,  Secretary  of  War,  im 
peached,  443. 

Bell,  John,  presidential  candidate,  356;  cam 
paign,  357;  electoral  vote,  358. 


Belmont,  August,  political  leader,  419. 

Bennett,  James  Gordon,  editor,  281. 

Benton,  Thomas  H.,  supports  Jackson,  177, 
194,  195,  222;  patronage  report,  182;  urges 
bullionist  policy,  225,  236;  son-in-law,  320; 
Senator,  322;  loses  popularity,  329;  suc 
cessor,  335;  followers  support  Union,  371; 
cited,  177,  212. 

Berkshires,  desire  separation,  28. 

Berlin  Decree,  issued,  104;  revocation,  112. 

Berlin,  General  Act  of,  486. 

Biddle,  Nicholas,  president  United  States 
Bank,  99,  212-215,  220. 

Bimetallism,  Republicans  favor,  455. 

Birmingham  (Ala.),  mining  center,  436. 

Birney,  James  G.,  Liberty  party  candidate,  295, 
306;  slavery  views,  297. 

Black,  Jeremiah,  Attorney-General,  361 ;  Secre 
tary  of  State,  365. 

Black  Hawk  War,  results,  191. 

Black  Warrior,  seized  in  Cuba,  332. 

Blackstone,  William,  influence,  33,  38. 

Elaine,  James  G.,  congressional  leader,  420; 
Speaker,  447;  record,  447,  463;  presidential 
candidate,  447,  461,  463;  campaign,  447, 
448;  Secretary  of  State,  policy,  462,  472, 
483-485;  resigns,  462;  tariff  views,  472,  473. 

Blair,  Francis  P.,  founds  Globe,  203;  loses 
government  printing,  308. 

Blair,  Francis  P.,  Missouri  Unionist,  371 ;  vice- 
presidential  candidate,  419. 

Blair,  Montgomery,  Postmaster-General,  380. 

Bland  Act,  provisions,  455  ;  repealed,  474. 

Blockade,  of  southern  ports,  383-388. 

Boer  War,  danger  to  England,  495. 

Bogota,  Minister  withdrawn  from,  497. 

Bohemians,  immigrants,  512. 

Bolivar,  Simon,  Spanish- American  leader,  168. 

Bolivia,  gains  independence,   168. 

Book  of  Mormon,  published,  278. 

Boone,  Daniel,  settled  in  Kentucky,  12. 

Border  states,  election,  (1860)  357;  (1872)  430; 
division  of,  368-371. 

Boston,  commercial  importance,  5,  54;  trade, 
119,135,140;  port  blockaded,  119;  currency 
scare,  156;  political  tendency,  254;  anti- 
Catholic  riot,  273;  abolition,  294;  growth, 
445- 

Boundaries,  inaccuracy  in  1783,  2;  western 
cessions  settle,  18;  dispute  with  Spain,  21, 
70;  Indian,  61,  180;  Florida,  no,  in,  169; 
northwest,  126,  171,  310,  425;  Mexican,  228, 
311,  3i3,  3345  northeast,  259;  Texas,  322; 
Alaska,  496. 

Bourne,  Sen.  Jonathan,  Progressive  leader,  527. 

Bowdoin,  Gov.  James,  puts  down  rebellion,  28. 

Bowling  Green  (Ky.),  railroad  center,  266. 

Boxer  outbreak,  498. 

Bragg,  Gen.  Braxton,  invades  Tennessee,  392; 
at  Chattanooga,  393. 

Branch,  Gen.  John,  North  Carolina  Whig,  314- 

Brazil,  gains  independence,  168;  negotiations 
with,  334;  German  colonies,  483. 

Breckinridge,  J.  C.,  Vice  President,  354;  presi 
dential  candidate,  354,  355;  campaign,  357; 
electoral  vote,  357;  supporters,  368. 

Bright,  John,  free  trade  advocate,  309;  friend 
»f  North,  385. 


INDEX 


Briscoe  v.  Bank  of  Kentucky,  cited,  238. 

British,  settle  in  South  Carolina,  113;  incite 
Indians,  115;  occupy  Wisconsin,  122;  com 
pete  for  trade,  136;  seize  Caroline,  257; 
Creole,  297. 

British  Parliament,  procedure,  44,  92. 

Brook  Farm  experiment,  284. 
!  I  Brooks,  Phillips,  cited,  407. 
f  Brooks,  Preston,  attack  on  Sumner,  342 ;  South 
•        sustains,  342. 

Brougham,  Lord,  cited,  120. 

Brown,  Charles  B.,  author,  283. 

Brown,  Gov.  J.  E.,  upholds  state  rights,  377; 
reconstruction  views,  428. 

Brown,  Gratz,  Missouri  liberal,  429. 

Brown,  John,  activity  in  Kansas,  347,  352; 
character,  352;  at  Harpers  Ferry,  353;  nor 
thern  sympathy,  353 ;  cited,  352,  353. 

Brownsville  (Tex.),  smuggling,  385. 

Bryan,  William  J.,  convention  speech,  479; 
presidential  candidate,  479,  493,  522,  525; 
campaign,  480;  electoral  vote,  481;  in  Wil 
son  convention,  532,  533;  Secretary  of  State, 
535,  540,544;  cited,  479. 

Bryant,  William  C.,  begins  to  write,  153. 

Buchanan,  James,  Secretary  of  State,  308; 
Oregon  treaty,  310;  rivals,  329;  Minister  to 
England,  331,  332;  Cuban  negotiation,  332; 
Ostend  Manifesto,  332;  elected  President,  344 ; 
inaugural,  346;  Kansas  policy,  ^347;  Lincoln 
attacks,  351;  supports  Breckinridge,  355; 
opponents,  357;  inactive  against  secession, 
361,  365 ;  cabinet  crisis,  365. 

Buckminster,  J.  S.,  Unitarian  leader,  152. 

Buckner,  Gen.  S.  B.,  Gold  Democrat,  479. 

Buena  Vista  (Mex.),  Taylor  seizes,  313. 

Buenos  Aires,  gains  independence,  168. 

Buffalo  (N.Y.),  Free-Soil  convention,  319;  Pan- 
American  Exposition,  519. 

Bull  Run  (Va.),  battle,  390.    See  Manassas. 

Bulwer,  Sir  W.  H.  L.  Ev  333- 

Burbank,  Luther,  experiments,  503. 

Burgoyne,  Gen.  John,  route,  123. 

Burr,  Aaron,  Republican  candidate,  74 ;  skillful 
politician,  83,  100;   electoral  vote,  83;   char 
acter,  84 ;  followers,  89 ;   dropped  by  caucus, 
«        100 ;     challenges   Hamilton,    100;    trial   for 
treason,  100. 

Bushnell,  Horace,  theologian,  153- 

Butler,  Sen.  A.  P.,  offended  by  Sumner,  342. 

Butler,  Benjamin  F.,  Union  Democrat,  368; 
urges  impeachment  of  Johnson,  414;  con 
gressional  leader,  420. 

Cabot,  George,  Federalist  leader,  in  Hartford 
Convention,  124;  cited,  8p,  81,  98,  124. 

Cadore,  Due  de,  French  Minister,  112;  letter 
cited,  112;  effect  of  letter,  112,  116. 

Cairo  (111.),  commercial  center,  349. 

Calhoun,  John  C.,  enters  Congress,  114;  favors 
British  war,  118;  tariff  views,  142,  159,  198, 
202,  206;  exponent  of  South,  145  ;  bank  plan, 
157;  Secretary  of  War,  163;  ambition,  163; 
secession  views,  166,  200,  201,  205;  Vice 
President,  176,  186,  198,  201,  203,  206;  fol 
lowers,  178,  198,  244;  patronage,  187;  op 
poses  national  conventions,  189;  love  of 
Union,  198,  199 ;  constitutional  theories,  199, 


203,  206,  207;  Disquisition  on  Government, 
199;  relations  with  Jackson,  202,  203,  217, 
218;  nullification,  207,  297;  relations  with 
Van  Buren,  235,  244,  261,  303;  supports  sub- 
treasury,  237;  presidential  candidate,  261, 
303;  policies,  261,  262;  resigns,  261;  slavery, 
294,  296,  297;  Secretary  of  State,  303; 
treaty  with  Texas,  303,  304;  relations  wit£ 
Polk,  305,  308;  Oregon,  310;  non-interven 
tion,  316,  339,  340,  346;  Senator,  322;  last 
public  appearance,  324;  opposes  Compromise 
of  1850, 324;  death,  329;  cited,  261,  262, 294. 

California,  Spanish  settlements,  279;  England 
desires,  279,  320;  Texas,  279;  immigration 
slow,  280;  Americans  desire,  311,  312;  dis 
covery  of  gold,  320,  327 ;  rush  of  immigrants, 
320,  321;  explored,  320;  Mexico  cedes,  320; 
population,  321;  excludes  slavery,  322,  331; 
in  Compromise  of  1850,  323 ;  routes  to,  333, 
335;  admitted  to  Union,  439;  Chinese  ques 
tion,  454,  461,  463,  512;  McKinley  carries, 
481 ;  grants  woman's  suffrage,  507 ;  amended 
constitution,  530 ;  electoral  vote,  534. 

Callender,  Thomas,  prosecuted,  78. 

Cameron,  Simon,  Secretary  of  War,  380;  resig 
nation,  381. 

Campbell,  George  W.,  cited,  98. 
^Canada,  French  population,  63;  British  in, 
115;  Americans  propose  conquest,  121; 
American  Loyalists  in,  121;  invasion,  122, 
124;  revolution  attempted,  243;  American 
neutrality,  243 ;  claims  against,  257 ;  mis 
sionaries,  278;  slaves  seek,  293;  annexation 
proposed,  331;  reciprocity '  treaty,  334; 
treaty,  425;  American  relations,  495;  immi 
gration  from  United  States,  502 ;  trade  rival, 
514;  reciprocity  treaty,  526. 

Canals.    See  Transportation. 

Canning,  George,  American  policy,  109,  no, 
170,  172,  483. 

Cannon,  Joseph,  Speaker  of  House,  45,  527. 

Canton  (China),  American  trade,  22. 

Cape  Horn,  route  via,  321,  333. 

Capital,  combats  labor  unions,  458,  459;  con 
centration,  459, 460 ;  political  power,  461, 530. 

Caribbean  Sea,  England  controls,    172;    trade, 

Carlisle,  John  G.,  Speaker,  468. 

Carolinas,  plantation  system,  8;    cede  western 

lands,   17,   18,   20;    paper-money  party,  27. 

See  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina. 
Caroline,  American  vessel,  seized,  257. 
"  Carpetbaggers,"  in  South,  426,  427. 
Cass,  Lewis,  Secretary  of  War,  203;    Minister 

to  France,  258;   Secretary  of  State,  259,  344; 

squatter    sovereignty    doctrine,    316,    317; 

presidential  candidate,   317;    Senator,  322; 

rivals,  329;   British  negotiations,  344. 
Catholics.     See  Roman  Catholics. 
Caton  v.  Commonwealth  of  Virginia,  cited,  25. 
Caucus,  development,  74,  90,   162,  174,    189; 

congressional,  108,  117,  162,  174. 
Cavaliers,  in  Virginia,  6,  87. 
Cedar  Creek  (Va.),  battle,  391. 
Centennial  Exposition,  effects,  450. 
Central    America,    gains  _  independence,    168; 

canal  proposed,  333 ;  filibustering  expedition, 

344- 


XV 


INDEX 


Central  Falls  (K.I.),  growth,  133. 

Central  Pacific  Railroad,  in  merger,  521. 

Centralization,  tendencies  toward,  31,  33;  in 
Constitutional  Convention,  36,  37 ;  opponents, 
40,  54;  advocates,  50,  54;  legislation  of 
1799,  78;  dangers  urged,  82;  unpopular,  84, 
85;  Republican  tendency,  101,  108,  129,  160, 
161,  173;  influence  of  Supreme  Court,  129- 
131;  West  favors,  147;  in  Confederacy,  377, 
383;  in  North,  383,  396,  397,  430,  431. 

Cerro  Gordo  (Mex.),  battle,  313. 

Cervera,  Admiral  Pascual,  fleet  captured,  489. 

Chancellorsville  (Va.),  battle,  390. 

Chandler,  W.  E.,  Secretary  of  Navy,  471. 

Channing,  William  E.,  Unitarian  leader,  152. 

Chapultepec  (Mex.),  battle,  313. 

Charleston  (S.  C.),  early  importance,  8;  Genet 
visits,  63;  trade,  139,  140;  Courier,  cited, 
198 ;  customs  port,  205  ;  Literary  Messenger, 
283 ;  postmaster,  293 ;  Democratic  conven 
tion,  354,  355;  harbor  forts,  367,  385. 

Charlestown  (Va.),  trial  of  John  Brown,  353. 

Chase,  Salmon  P.,  Free-Soil  Senator,  320,  327; 
opposes  Compromise  of  1850,  324;  squatter 
sovereignty,  336 ;  Secretary  of  Treasury,  380, 
104;  policy,  382,  383 ;  favors  early  emancipa 
tion,  398;  Chief  Justice,  421,  422. 

Chase,  Justice  Samuel,  impeached,  93. 

Chattanooga  (Tenn.),  railroad  connections,  389, 
392 ;  capture  and  siege,  393. 

Cherokee  Nation  v.  Georgia,  cited,  191. 

Cherokees,  in  Georgia,  191. 

Cherubusco  (Mex.),  battle,  313. 

Chesapeake,  Leopard  fires  on,  104,  105 ;  affair 
settled,  116;  fights  Shannon,  120. 

Chesapeake  Bay,  British  harry  coast,  123;  fort, 
384- 

Cheves,  Langdon,  in  Congress,  114;  favors 
navy,  116;  president  United  States  Bank, 
158,  212. 

Chicago,  commercial  growth,  335,  349,  379, 
445,  501;  New  York  Zouaves  visit,  353; 
Republican  convention,  355;  speech  of 
Douglas,  370;  Douglas  monument,  412; 
Pullman  strike,  478. 

Chicago,  Burlington,  and  Quincy  Railroad,  in 
merger,  521. 

Chickamauga  (Tenn.),  battle,  393. 

Chile,  gains  independence,  168. 

China,  American  trade,  486,  514;  treaty  ports, 
486 ;  Boxer  outbreak,  498. 

Chinese,  in  California,  454;  on  Pacific  Coast, 
511-513;  labor  excluded,  513. 

Chinese  Exclusion  Act,  459,  461,  463,  469; 
effect,  512. 

Chisholm  v.  Georgia,  cited,  51. 

Choate,  Rufus,  supports  Buchanan,  344. 

Choctaws,  in  Mississippi,  191. 

Cincinnati  (O.),  trade,  139;  Democratic  con 
vention,  354;  manufactures  grow,  379;  Con 
federates  threaten,  392 ;  Liberal  Republican 
convention,  429 ;  Populist,  475. 

City  of  Mexico,  captured,  313. 

Civil  Rights  bill,  passed,  410,  411. 

Civil  service,  under  Washington,  50;  Adams, 
78 ;  Jefferson,  91-92 ;  nonpartisan  under  J.  Q. 
Adams,  178,  182;  reform,  182,  187,  461,  462, 
465,520;  Jackson's  use  of ,  188-190;  demorali 


zation,  240-242,  446;  Harrison's  use  of,  250; 
Tyler's,  262;  reform  associations,  447,  465; 
Commission,  447,  463,  465,  519. 

Civil  War,  causes,  21 ;  opening,  368,  387 ;  con 
traband  trade,  388;  important  legislation, 
396,  454;  resulting  problems,  407,  433-438, 
452;  increases  centralization,  454;  tax  re 
funded,  471 ;  pensions,  471,  477. 

Clapp,  Sen.  M.  E.,  Progressive  leader,  527. 

Clark,  Champ,  presidential  candidate,  532. 

Clark,  Gen.  George  Rogers,  agent  of  Gen£t,  64. 

Clark,  William,  explorer,  99,  277. 

Clay,  Cassius  M.,  Kentucky  abolitionist,  298. 

Clay,  Henry,  Speaker,  116,  156,  163,  167; 
favors  British  war,  116;  peace  commissioner, 
126;  devises  "American  system,"  149;  re 
election  endangered,  161 ;  presidential  am 
bition,  163,  175,  323;  views  on  slavery,  166; 
suggests  second  Missouri  Compromise,  167; 
sympathy  with  Spanish  colonies,  168;  dis 
approves  Mexican  boundary,  169;  relations 
with  Jackson,  175,  176,  217;  corruption 
charged,  176;  electoral  vote,  176,  218;  duel 
with  Randolph,  177;  tariff  views,  181,  204, 
206,  255;  internal  improvements,  192,  210; 
public  lands,  195  ;  Senator,  216,  322  ;  natural 
leader,  217,  245;  presidential  candidate,  217, 
231,  232,  245,  252,  254;  conciliates  France, 
228;  financial,  235,  237,  253;  relations  with 
Harrison,  249,  250;  party  leader,  252,  254; 
relations  with  Tyler,  254-256;  retires,  260; 
Texas,  306;  loses  election,  306;  character, 
323;  Compromise  of  1850,  323,  327;  death, 
329;  education,  365;  constructive  views, 
396;  Pan-American  policy,  462,  483. 

Clayton,  J.  M.,  arranges  British  treaty,  333. 

Clayton  Anti-Trust  Act,  540. 

Cleveland,  Grover,  mayor  of  Buffalo,  464;  gov 
ernor,  464;  elected  President,  464;  cabinet, 
464;  character,  464;  vetoes,  464,  465;  civil 
service  policy,  465;  tariff,  468,  469,  473;  re- 
nomination,  469;  defeat,  470;  navy,  471; 
reelection,  476 ;  financial  policy,  477 ;  sends 
troops  to  Chicago,  478;  Venezuelan  policy, 
484 ;  canal,  485 ;  Samoa,  486,  487 ;  Cuba,  488. 

Cleveland  (O.),  manufactures  grow,  379;  Fre 
mont  convention,  405. 

Clinton,  DeWitt,  Republican  leader,  89;  elec 
toral  vote,  1 1 7 ;  canal  scheme,  138 ;  promotes 
education,  286. 

Clinton,  Gov.  George,  25,  86;  Revolutionary 
leader,  33;  opposes  Constitution,  40;  fol 
lowers,  89 ;  removes  opponents,  90 ;  electoral 
vote,  74,  100,  108;  death,  117. 

Coal,  in  South,  436;  in  New  England,  438; 
miners  strike,  520;  Alaska,  529- 

Cobb,  Howell,  favors  Compromise  of  1850,  328. 

Cobb,  T.  W.,  cited,  165. 

Cobden,  Richard,  free-trade  advocate,  309. 

Coercion,  South  resents,  368 ;  under  Grant,  429. 

Coffee,  West  Indian  trade,  65. 

Cohens  v.  Virginia,  cited,  129. 

Cold  Harbor  (Va.),  battle,  300. 

Collins  Line,  rivals  Cunard  Company,  270; 
fails,  270. 

Colombia^  treaty,  333;  canal  route  485; 
negotiations,  497. 

Colonization  Society,  objects,  164."; 


XVI 


INDEX 


Colorado,  mining  immigration,  379;  admitted 
to  Union,  439- 

Columbia  River,  discovery,  277,  486;  trade 
key  to  northwest,  277. 

Columbian  Sentinel,  cited,  78. 

Commerce,  New  England,  5,  95  intercolonial, 
12;  expansion  after  Revolution,  22,  26,  61, 
66;  sectionalism  hinders,  23,  62;  interstate, 
41,  61,  456,  457,  467;  western,  60;  foreign, 
61,  65,  66,  104,  no,  268,  269,  334,  484,  494, 
514;  European  wars,  65;  with  France,  79; 
West  Indies,  79,  226;  effects  of  restrictive 
policy,  no;  injured  by  War  of  1812,  121; 
on  rivers,  130;  decline,  131,  132,  136;  tariff 
and,  136;  English  competition,  172,  269; 
exports  increase,  269,  514;  Great  Lakes,  270; 
coastwise,  270;  South  American,  334;  dur 
ing  Civil  War,  379,  380,  387. 

Commerce  Court,  established,  526. 

Commerce  and  Labor,  Department  created, 
520;  investigations,  525. 

Commission  government,  508,  509. 

Commissions,  tariff,  508;  Rate,  508;  Aldrich 
Monetary,  508;  national,  524. 

Committees,  importance  in  Congress,  44,  45, 
116. 

Communism,  interest  in,  278;  Mormon  views 
of,  278. 

Compromise  of  1850,  provisions,  323;  debate, 
324,  325;  effects,  328;  acceptance,  329; 
abolitionists  attack,  330;  principles,  336; 
American  party  indorses,  343. 

Compromises,  in  Constitution,  33-37 ;  unsatis 
factory,  163. 

Confederacy,  plan  of  Union,  364;  attack  on 
Sumter,  367 ;  holds  unwilling  sections,  370, 
371 ;  portions  of  West,  371 ;  Constitution, 
373;  political  unity,  373;  economic  depend 
ence,  373,  374;  population,  374;  character  of 
armies,  374,  375;  conscription,  375;  re 
sources,  375;  enlistments,  375,  379;  manu 
factures,  376;  finances,  377;  centralization, 
377,  383 ;  report  of  War  Secretary,  cited,  377, 
378;  experienced  officials,  380;  ports  block 
aded,  383-388;  foreign  relations,  385-389; 
isolation,  389;  operations  in  East,  390,  391; 
in  West,  391-393;  in  South,  394;  trans 
portation  crippled,  393,  394;  fall,  394; 
cruisers,  424,  441 ;  belligerency,  424. 

Confederation,  requisitions,  24;  _  important 
suits  under,  25 ;  economic  conditions,  26,  27, 
31,60,61;  reasons  for  failure,  51,  59;  foreign 
policy,  102 ;  Pacific  trade,  486. 

Confiscation  acts,  passed,  399;  provisions,  403; 
enforcement,  433. 

Congregationalists,  foster  nationalism,  31; 
Unitarian  secession,  152 ;  Indian  mission,  2^78. 

Congress  under  Confederation,  marks  political 
era,  i;  powers,  13,  14,  18,  23,  32;  land 
policy,  17,  18,  19,  20;  displeases  western 
settlers,  21 ;  financial  policy,  24,  27 ;  in 
dorses  Constitutional  Convention,  32;  super 
vises  Constitution,  30741;  procedure,  44. 

Congress  under  Constitution,  powers,  36,  39,  54, 
60 ;  first  session  called,  41 ;  proposes  bill  of 
rights,  42 ;  organized,  44 ;  committees,  44,  45 ; 
Speaker,  45 ;  president  of  Senate,  45 ;  weak 
ness,  47;  relations  with  executive,  48; 


establishes  courts,  50;  caucuses,  74;  pro 
cedure,  92,  192,  193 ;  powers  over  territories, 
98,  317,  321,  343,  354,  492,  493;  powers, 
130,  166,  167,  197,  244,  295,  316;  indorses 
slavery  compromise,  135;  esprit  du  corps, 
322;  southern  members  withdraw,  382; 
growth  of,  421;  commerce,  457,  467. 

Conkling,  Roscoe,  Congressional  leader,  421 ; 
Republican  "Stalwart,"  450,  461-463. 

Connecticut,  western  claims,  17  ;  cedes,  18 ;  dis 
pute  with  Pennsylvania,  18;  emigrants,  21; 
gradual  emancipation,  26;  adopts  Constitu 
tion,  41 ;  trade,  41 ;  electoral  vote,  100,  162, 
232;  sends  commissioners  to  Washington, 
125,  126;  alters  Constitution,  150;  abolition 
riots,  294;  negroes  disfranchised,  41 4;  Demo 
cratic  victory,  448 ;  governor,  532. 

Connecticut  River,  trade  route,  135. 

Conservation,  necessity  urged,  502-504;  gov 
ernment  aid,  503;  progress,  524;  Taft's 
policy,  529,  530. 

Constitution,  marks  political  era,  i ;  signers,  33 ; 
compromises,  33-37,  163 ;  opposition,  34,  40- 
42,  50;  interpretation,  37;  form  of  govern 
ment  under,  38 ;  how  amended,  39;  drawn  by 
Morris,  39 ;  submitted  to  Congress,  39 ;  how 
ratified,  39-42 ;  forbids  bill  of  credit,  40,  148, 
210,  238;  favors  small  states,  41;  adopted, 
41,  47;  bill  of  rights  added,  42;  few  vital 
changes,  43;  "Conventions  of,"  44,  71; 
powers  of  executive,  48, 49 ;  Eleventh  Amend 
ment,  51,  239;  construction,  54-56,  97,  98, 
100,  101, 129, 130, 152, 161, 180, 192, 197, 253, 
275,  297,  414,  415,  423, 448 ;  economic  effects, 
61;  supporters,  62;  checks  license,  77:  a 
compact,  82,  167,  199,  201 ;  federalists 
strengthen,  84 ;  Twelfth  Amendment,  99, 100, 
251;  provisions,  135,  174,  176,  192,  197; 
amendments  proposed,  173, 193,  217, 361, 362, 
402,  411-413,  507;  Thirteenth  Amendment, 
403;  Fourteenth,  420;  Fifteenth,  420,  430, 
528,  529;  Sixteenth,  528,  529;  Seventeenth, 
528-^529;  Eighteenth,  Nineteenth,  568. 

Constitution,  sinks  Guerriere,  120;    Java,  120. 

Constitutional  Convention,  called,  32;  char 
acteristics,  32,  33;  temper,  34;  leaders,  34; 
discusses  representation,  35. 

Constitutional  Union  party,  candidates,  356- 

Construdion  Construed  and  the  Constitution  Vin 
dicated,  cited,  88. 

Continental  Army,  commander  in  chief,  46. 

Contraband,  disputes  over,  66;  in  Civil  War, 
388. 

Contract  labor,  importation  forbidden,  512. 

Contreras  (Mex.),  battle,  313. 

Controller  Bay,  land  sale,  529.  _ 

"Conventions  of  the  Constitution,"  44,  71. 


Cooke,  Jay,  loan  agent,  382. 

Cooke,  Jay  and  Company,  failure,  443. 

Coolies,  used,  441;  importation  forbidden,  512. 


Cooper,  James  F.,  author,  283. 
Cooper,  Peter,  presidential  candidate,  451. 
"Copperheads,"  Democratic  faction,  402,  448. 
Corinth  (Miss.),  battle,  392,  393. 
Corporations,  build  railroad,  265 ;  development, 
441,  458,  520,  521;  regulation,  509,  521,  522. 
Corsairs,  Algerian,  68, 104.    See  Barbary  States. 


XV11 


INDEX 


Cotton,  John,  cited,  4,  81. 

Cotton,  cultivation  extended,  6,  87,  113,  140, 
144, 145 ;  exported,  132, 140, 142, 143,  269, 379, 
380;  value  (1800-1820),  140;  cotton  gin  in 
vented,  140 ;  cultivation  increases  slave  labor, 
140, 141 ;  produces  economic  dependence,  141, 
142;  England  taxes,  142;  price  falls,  142,  144, 
197;  monopoly,  142,  143;  methods  of  culti 
vation,  144,  435;  "Cotton  Belt,"  144,  145, 
186,  218,  291,  297,354;  mills,  159,  436,  5oi; 
dominant  southern  industry,  267,  379;  mo 
nopoly  fails  in  war.  374, 386;  share  system,  434. 

Cotton  South,  considers  secession,  303,  364; 
electoral  vote  (1860),  357 ;  political  tendencies, 
396. 

Counties,  political  importance,  7,  10. 

Courts,  under  Confederation,  14. 

Crane,  Sen.  Murray  T.,  retires,  528. 

Crawford,  Thomas,  sculptor,  282.  ^ 

Crawford,  William  H.,  presidential  candidate, 
161,  163,  174;  Secretary  of  War,  162; 
Treasury,  162;  health,  174;  supporters,  174, 
175,  178 ;  electoral  vote,  176 ;  letter  cited,  203. 

Credit  Mobilier,  corruption,  443- 

Creeks,  in  Georgia,  6 1, 1 7 9, 180;  final  defeat,  122. 

Creole,  American  vessel,  seized,  259,  260,  297. 

Creoles,  in  Louisiana,  123. 

Crisis  of  1819.     See  Panics. 

Crittenden  resolution  adopted,  398. 

Crittenden,  Sen.  J.  J.,  slavery  compromise,  361. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  moral  leader,  292. 

Cuba,  Everett's  dispatch,  327  ;  annexation  pro 
posed,  331,  332,  362,  363;  seizes  Black  War 
rior,  332;  Buchanan's  policy,  344;  revolution, 
424;  Grant's  policy,  487;  Cleveland's,  488; 
McKinley's,  488;  Sen.  Proctor  visits,  488; 
independence  recognized,  489;  effect  of  rec 
ognition,  489,  490;  blockaded,  489;  pro 
tectorate,  490,  491 ;  Platt  amendment,  491. 

Cullom,  Sen.  Shelby,  frames  Interstate  Com 
merce  Act,  467  ;  defeat,  528. 

Cumberland  Gap,  route  via,  142,  146,  3Q2. 

Cumberland  River,  route  via,  12;  settlers,  114; 
Grant's  campaign,  391-,  392. 

Cumberland  Road.     See  Roads. 

Cummings  v.  Missouri,  cited,  421. 

Cummins,  Sen.  A.  B.,  Progressive  leader,  527; 
presidential  candidate,  531. 

Cunard  Company,  ocean  service,  270;  sub 
sidized,  271. 

Cunningham  coal  claims,  529. 

Currency,  paper  money,  27,  28;  national  bank 
note,  54;  scarcity,  156,  210;  plans  to  enlarge, 
157,  211 ;  overissues  by  state  banks,  223,  224; 
demand  for  specie,  236,  237;  New  York  sys 
tem,  241 ;  Whig  policy,  252-254;  during  Civil 
War,  382,  383,  396,  417;.  greenbacks,  417, 
418,  422,  451,  452;  premium  in  gold,  442; 
national  problem,  454 ;  free  silver  coinage  de 
manded,  455,  479;  election  issue,  480,  481; 
larger  production  of  gold  affects,  481 ;  gold 
standard,  500;  Aldrich-Vreeland  bill,  523. 

Curtin,  Gov.  A.  J.,  aids  Lincoln,  381. 

Curtis,  Benjamin  R.,  dissents  from  Taney,  346; 
attacks  Lincoln,  400;  Executive  Power,  cited, 
421. 

Curtis,  George  W.,  civil  service  reformer,  447; 
"  Mugwump,"  463. 


Gushing,  Caleb,  supports  Tyler,  254. 
Custer,  Gen.  G.  A.,  Indians  defeat,  444. 
Customs,  increase  of,  94,  95 ;  reduced  by  war, 

119;    service    demoralized,    241,    242.    See 

Taxes. 
Cutler,  Dr.  Manasseh,  land  agent,  20. 

Dallas,  Alexander,  Secretary  of  Treasury,  119, 
157;  recommendations,  157,  158. 

Dallas,  G.  M.,  Vice  President,  309. 

Dane,  Nathan,  draws  Ordinance  of  1787,  20. 

Danes,  immigrants,  511. 

Danville  (Va.),  railroad  seized,  391. 

Dartmouth  College  v.  Woodward,  cited,  129. 

Davie,  Gov.  W.  R.,  commissioner  to  France,  79. 

Davis,  David,  nonpartisan,  449. 

Davis,  Jefferson,  Senator,  322 ;  opposes  Com 
promise  of  1850,  324,  328;  defeated  for  gov 
ernor,  328 ;  supports  Lecompton  constitution, 
347 ;  Confederate  President,  365  ;  decides  to 
attack  Fort  Sumter,  367 ;  policy  toward  neu 
trals,  387. 

Day,  William  R.,  Secretary  of  State,  490;  heads 
Peace  Commission,  490. 

Debs,  Eugene,  presidential  candidate,  506. 

Declaration  of  Independence,  theory  of,  3 ; 
signers,  33  ;  cited  by  Taney,  346. 

"Declaration  of  Paris,"  provisions,  386. 

Decrees  of  Napoleon,  issued,  103,  104,  112;  re 
taliation  for,  109;  revoked,  112. 

Delaware,  plantation  system,  8;  first  to  adopt 
Constitutional ;  electoral  vote,  100, 108, 162, 
175;  senator  from,  126;  kept  in  Union,  369 ; 
McKinley  carries,  481. 

Delaware  River  valley,  character  of  population, 
8;  desires  Federal  capital,  53. 

de  Lesseps,  Ferdinand,  canal  promoter,  462. 

de  Lome,  Senor,  attack  on  McKinley,  488. 

Democracy,  in  society,  149,  185;  politics,  150, 
151,  161,  185-190,  225;  religion,  152-153; 


Jeffersonian, 


180,    184,    185,    i8( 


Jacksonian,  175,  185,  504;  frontier,  185; 
northern,  186;  changing  ideals,  505-507,  517- 
Democrats,  use  of  patronage,  188,  203,  250; 
party  organization,  190,  218;  internal  im 
provement  policy,  192, 193 ;  leaders,  203,  208, 
260,  261, 329, 401, 402 ;  Union  sentiment,  208, 
368;  nominate  Jackson,  217;  Van  Buren, 
230;  Polk,  304;  policies,  231,  233,  244,  261, 
275,  304;  losses,  232,  243,  248;  blamed  for 
panic,  234;  demand  hard  money,  236;  fac 
tions,  236,  237,  249,  308,  320,  329,  401,  419; 
dominate  Supreme  Court,  238;  vote  with 
Whigs,  255,  256;  favor  annexation  of  Texas, 
304,  305  ;  tariff  of  1846,  309;  nominate  Cass, 
317;  ignore  slavery  issue,  317,  318;  indorse 
Compromise  of  1850,  329;  elect  Pierce,  329; 
divide  on  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  338-340; 
join  Republicans,  343 ;  elect  Buchanan,  344 ; 
split  on  Kansas  question,  348,  354 ;  in  election 
of  1858,  351;  opposing  candidates,  354,  355; 
keep  party  organization,  397 ;  oppose  eman 
cipation,  400,  401 ;  congressional  victories, 
401 ;  nominate  McClellan,  405 ;  assist  John 
son,  412;  nominate  Seymour,  419 ;  in  election 
of  1876,  448,  449 ;  soft  money  platform,  455  ; 
nominate  Hancock,  461 ;  platform,  463,  464; 
elect  Cleveland,  464;  tariff  policy,  468,  469; 


INDEX 


control  House,  474;  reelect  Cleveland  and 
control  Congress,  476;  split  on  silver,  477, 
479;  PopuMsts  join,  479;  Anti-Imperialists, 
493;  nominate  Parker,  521;  Bryan,  525; 
control  House,  526,  528;  nominate  Wilson, 
532;  factions,  532;  campaign,  534. 

Denmark,  treaty,  334;   friendly  to  North,  385. 

Deseret.     See  Utah. 

Detroit,  held  by  Great  Britain,  22,  122. 

Dewey,  Admiral  George,  in  Manila  Bay,  490. 

Dingley,  Nelson,  frames  tariff  bill,  481. 

Disciples  of  Christ,  growth,  153. 

District  of  Columbia,  importation  of  slaves  for 
bidden,  324;  abolition  sought,  295 ;  obtained, 
399* 

"  Divorce  Bill."    See  Independent  Treasury. 

Dix,  John  A.,  Secretary  of  Treasury,  365. 

Dolliver,  Sen.  J.  P.,  Progressive  leader,  527. 

Donelson,  Andrew  J.,  vice-presidential  candi 
date,  344. 

Donelson,  Fort,  taken,  392. 

"  Dorr  War,"  results,  299. 

"Dough-faces,"  origin  of  term,  167. 

Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  squatter  sovereignty 
doctrine,  317,  335,  339,  344,  348;  Senator, 
322,351;  rivals,  329;  opposition,  336 ;  policy 
defeated,  338;  opposes  Lecompton  constitu 
tion,  348;  birthplace,  349;  debates  with 
Lincoln,  349-351;  presidential  candidate, 
354,  355,  357;  campaign  in  South,  357; 
vote  for,  357-358;  supports  Union,  370; 
death,  370,  430;  monument  dedicated,  412. 

Dow,  Neal,  prohibition  advocate,  288. 

Draft  riots,  in  New  York,  402. 

Drago,  Prof.  L.  M.,  on  collection  of  debts,  496. 

Drecl  Scott  decision,  492;  Congress  overruled, 
399,  421. 

Duane,  William  J.,  Secretary  of  Treasury,  221 ; 
removed,  221. 

Dutch,  in  Hudson  valley,  8 ;  political  inexperi 
ence,  9,  10;  policy  toward  neutrals,  66. 

Early,  Gen.  Jubal,  defeated,  391. 

East,  trade  connections,  61,  138. 

East  Indies,  trade  with,  61,  69. 

Economic  legislation,  tendency,  509. 

Edison,  Thomas,  inventor,  503. 

Education,  southern  system,  7,  428 ;  land  grants 
support,  19;  progress  slow,  285;  develop 
ment  of  free,  286,  287  ;  leaders,  286 ;  separa 
tion  from  church,  287 ;  influence  of  lyceums, 
287;  specialization,  504,  505;  immigrant, 
513;  negro,  515,  516. 

Edwardsville  (111.),  land  question,  173. 

Egypt,  cotton  exports,  374. 

"  Egypt,"  Illinois  district,  349. 

Elections,  congressional,  78,  156,  401,  412,  444, 
526,  540;  presidential,  100,  108,  117,  161, 167, 
174,  182,  216-218,  226,  230,  246-248,  260- 
262, 314, 317-318,  328,  329,  356-358,  418-420, 
429,  430,  448,  461,  463,  464,  469,  470,  476, 
479,  480,  493,  521,  522,  525,  531-534- 

Electoral  Commission,  chooses  Hayes,  448. 

Electoral  vote,  (1789),  46;  (1792),  74;  (1800), 
83;  (1804),  100;  (1808),  108;  (1812),  117; 
(1816),  162;  (1820),  167;  (1824),  175-176; 
(1828),  185-187;  (1832),  218;  (1836),  231; 
(1840),  248;  (1844),  306;  (1852),  329; 


(1856),  344;    (1860),  357-358;    (1864),  405; 
(1876),    447;      (1896),    481;      (1912),    533, 

Electors,  presidential,  how  chosen,  46,  150; 
use  discretion,  74. 

Elements  of  Union,  12,  13,  31. 

Ellsworth,  Oliver,  plan  of  judiciary,  50;  com 
missioner  to  France,  79. 

Emancipation,  states  adopt,  164;  District  of 
Columbia,  399 ;  demand  for,  399 ;  Proclama 
tion  issued,  389,  400;  results,  389;  oath  to 
support,  404. 

Embargo,  Federalists  adopt,  68;  Jefferson 
favors,  105,  106;  effects,  106,  133,  374; 
repeal,  106;  Napoleon,  112;  Madison  pro 
poses,  116. 

Emerson,  Ralph  W.,  theology,  152,  285 ;  praises 
John  Brown,  353 ;  cited,  153. 

Emmanuel,  American  trade  vessel,  94. 

English,  in  Middle  States,  8,  9;  labor  in  mills, 
440;  immigrants,  511. 

English  Bill,  provisions,  348. 

English  Constitution,  as  precedent,  38. 

Episcopal  church,  fosters  nationalism,  31. 

"Era  of  Good  Feeling,"  causes,  128. 

Ericsson,  John,  inventor,  385. 

Erie  Canal,  effect  on  trade,  138;  importance, 
146;  completed,  178;  cheap  route,  264-266. 

Erie  Railroad,  rivals  waterways,  266 ;  managers, 
442;  Tammany  connection,  445. 

Erskine,  D.  M.,  British  Minister,  109;  treaty 
rejected,  no,  in. 

Essex,  American  trade  vessel,  102. 

Essex  Junto,  Federalist  clique,  80;  aristocratic 
leanings,  129. 

Europe,  imports  foodstuffs,  66,  456;  Holy  Alli 
ance,  170,  171;  expected  to  aid  South,  374; 
effect  of  bad  harvests,  379,  380 ;  relations  with 
Confederacy,  385,  386;  emigration,  434,  438, 
439 ;  Spanish-American  creditor,  496. 

European  wars,  affect  America,  102,  103,  543. 

Evarts,  William,  counsel  for  Johnson,  415; 
Secretary  of  State,  canal  policy,  485. 

Everett,  Edward,  discusses  secret  societies,  216; 
lyceum  lecturer,  287;  Washington  and  the 
Union,  287 ;  Secretary  of  State,  327 ;  vice- 
presidential  candidate,  356. 

Ewing,  Thomas,  Secretary  of  Treasury,  253. 

Executive,  organization,  48-50 ;  growth  of  power, 
400-402,  421,  465,  493. 

Expansion  of  industry  in  South,  436;  in  North 
and  West,  439-441,  446 ;  of  farming,  439,  451 ; 
business,  458;  effects,  476,  484. 

Expansion  of  territory,  constitutional  questions, 
97,  98,  346;  Louisiana  Purchase,  97;  Florida, 
169,  170;  Texas,  302,^307;  Oregon,  305,  310, 
315;  Alaska,  423;  Philippines,  490,  491,  493. 
See  Population. 

Ex  parte  Milligan,  cited,  421. 

Expatriation,  diplomatic  problem,  426. 

Factory  _ system,  in  New  England,  133,  440; 
conditions  of  work,  133,  134;  fails  in  South, 
142;  children  protected,  289;  conditions  of 
labor,  458;  supervision,  510.  See  Manu 
factures. 

Fall  River  (Mass.),  manufactures,  440. 

Fallen  Timbers,  battle  of,  61. 


XIX 


INDEX 


Farmers'  Alliances,  formation,  475. 

"  The  Federalist,"  40. 

Federal  Reserve  Banks,  539. 

Federal  Trade  Commission,  540. 

Federalists,  origin  of  name,  40;  support  Con 
stitution,  41 ;  English  policy,  68,  70,  71;  can 
didates,  74,  75,  81,  100,  162;  factions,  75,  80, 
83;  badge,  77;  policies,  77,  78,  82;  defeat, 
83,  84,  86,  100,  108;  achievements,  84,  85; 
removal  from  office,  90;  impeachments  of, 
93 ;  urge  French  war,  96,  105 ;  criticise  Louisi 
ana  Purchase,  97,  98;  discuss  secession,  106; 
oppose  British  war,  117,  124;  disappear,  128, 
161;  leaders,  135,  156;  tariff  of  1816,  158; 
carry  three  states,  167 ;  aristocratic  tendency, 
189,  236;  oppose  Twelfth  Amendment,  250. 

Fenians,  in  America,  426. 

Fessenden,  Sen.  William  P.,  409,  413. 

Filipinos,  leader,  490;  rights,  493. 

Fillmore,  Millard,  succeeds  Taylor,  325;  favors 
Compromise  of  1850,  325;  cabinet,  327;  fails 
of  renomination,  328;  presidential  candidate, 
344 ;  electoral  vote,  344. 

Finances,  disorder  after  Revolution,  24,  26,  27; 
Gallatin's  system,  94,  95.  See  Currency. 

Finns,  immigrants,  511. 

"Fire  Eaters,"  southern  nickname,  322. 

Fish,  Hamilton,  Secretary  of  State,  424;  deal 
ings  with  JEngland,  424;  Cuban  policy,  487, 
488. 

Fish,  trade  in,  23. 

Fisheries,  Newfoundland,  5 ;  treaties,  425. 

Fisk,  James,  tries  to  corner  gold,  442. 

Flagg,  Gerson,  letter  cited,  173. 

Fletcher  v.  Peck,  cited,  102,  129. 

Florida,  Spanish  colonies,  64;  plan  to  acquire, 
79;  _  boundaries,  no,  in,  169;  ceded  to 
Spain,  1 1 1 ;  purchase,  1 69 ;  Jackson's  cam 
paign,  169,  175;  Seminoles,  192,  242;  repu 
diates  debt,  238;  admitted  to  Union,  239, 
335;  Whigs  carry,  320;  secedes,  364;  recon 
struction,  448,  449;  double  election  returns, 
448;  growth  of  population,  501. 

Flour,  trade,  119;   manufacture,  440. 

Floyd,  John,  electoral  vote,  218. 

Foch,  Marshal,  554,  560. 

Foote,  H.  S.,  defeats  Jefferson  Davis,  328. 

Foote,  Sen.  S.  A.,  194,  201. 

Forbes,  J.  M..  cited,  356. 

Force  Bill  (1832),  207,  208;  (1890),  fails  of 
passage,  470. 

Forest  Service,  chief,  529. 

Forster,  W.  E.,  friend  of  North,  385. 

Fort  Dearborn,  British  occupy,  122. 

Fort  Henry,  taken,  392. 

Fort  McHenry,  attacked,  123. 

Fort  Mimms,  massacre,  122. 

Fort  Monroe,  North  holds,  384. 

Fort  Pickens,  North  holds,  384. 

Fort  Pulaski,  seized,  384. 

Fort  Sumter,  attack  on,  unites  North,  397. 

Foss,  Gov.  E.  N.,  presidential  candidate,  532. 

Foster,  A.  J.,  envoy  from  England,  116. 

Foster,  J.  W.,  Secretary  of  State,  487. 

Fourier,  Ch.,  followers,  279. 

Fox,  Gustavus,  assistant  secretary  of  navy, 
384. 

Fox  Indians,  habitat,  191. 


France,  treaty  with,  22,  79-81,  95,  96,  227; 
relations  with  England/62,  63,  66,  95,  97,  109, 
125;  colonial  ambitions,  63,  65;  loan  to 
United  States,  63;  West  Indian  possessions, 
63,  65,  79,  95;  sends  Genet  to  America,  64; 
recalls,  65;  policy  toward  neutrals,  66,  67, 
104-106,  109;  Jefferson  favors,  71,  75 ;  objects 
to  Jay  treaty,  75 ;  war  with,  76-78 ;  relations 
with  Spain,  78,  95,  in,  170;  minister  to,  79; 
peace  commissioners,  79;  Jacobin  clubs,  89; 
acquires  Louisiana,  95,  in;  relations  with 
Austria,  97,  170;  relations  with  America, 
104-106,  109,  113,  114,  227,  258;  foreign 
minister,  1 1 2 ;  trade,  131,  142;  relations  with 
Russia,  170;  with  Prussia,  170;  joins  Holy 
Alliance,  170;  resents  Jackson's  message,  227, 
228;  bad  harvests,  379;  friendly  attitude, 
495 ;  assents  to  open  door  policy,  498 ;  arbi 
tration  treaty,  529. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  drafts  Articles  of  Confedera 
tion,  31;  in  Constitutional  Convention,  34; 
intellectual  ability,  47  ;  cited,  34. 

Frayser's  Farm  (Va.),  battle,  390. 

Fredericksburg  (Va.),  battle,  390. 

Free-Soil  party,  elements,  318,  319;  platform 
cited,  319;  large  vote,  319,  320;  losses  in 
1852,  329;  power  in  Massachusetts,  336. 

Free  trade,  advocates,  308,  309;  tariff  of  1846, 
309,  320;  tendency  checked,  382. 

Freedmen's  Bureau,  functions,  410;  Act  of 
1865,  410;  1866,  411. 

Freedom  of  speech,  endangered,  400. 

Freemasonry,  attacked,  216. 

Frelinghuysen,  Frederick  T.,  Secretary  of  State, 
462. 

Fremont,  John  C.,  explorer,  320;  presidential 
candidate,  343,  405;  electoral  vote,  344; 
Illinois  vote,  349;  embarrasses  administration, 
398. 

French,  canal  schemes,  485 ;  buy  Spanish  bonds, 
494. 

French  Canadians,  in  New  England,  440;  im 
migrants,  511. 

French  Revolution,  affects  America,  62,  63,  71; 
humanitarian  influence,  290. 

Fries,  John,  trial  for  treason.  82. 

Frolic,  Wasp  defeats,  120. 

Frontier,  characteristics  (1783),  10-12;  area, 
12;  population,  12,  115,  146;  transportation 
problem,  56,  135,  147,  193,  264;  relations 
with  Spanish  settlements,  64 ;  England  holds 
forts,  68;  land  sales,  114;  advance  of,  114, 
115,  146,  268,  270,  276,  379,  438,  474,  501, 
502;  squatters,  115,  194,  195;  political  im 
portance,  117,  185,  231;  characteristics  of 
settlers,  146,  151-153,  185;  tarifpvietvs',  148, 
185;  leaders,  149,  151,  231;  democracy,  151, 
152,  185,  188;  views  on  slavery,  165;  love  of 
Union,  180;  electoral  vote,  185;  Indians,  190- 
192 ;  internal  improvements,  192 ;  bank,  210- 
213,  223;  land  speculation,  223;  bank  sus 
pension,  238,  239;  Canada,  243,  502  ;  isolation, 
247;  squatter  sovereignty,  316;  financial  dis 
tress,  475,  478;  disappearance,  502. 

Fugitive  Slave  Law,  in  Compromise  of  1850, 
323;  violated,  330;  repealed,  402. 

Fugitive  slaves,  surrender,  295. 

Fuller,  H.  M.,  candidate  for  Speaker,  340. 


INDEX 


Fuller,  Margaret,  283. 

Fulton,  Robert,  granted    monopoly,    130;     in 
ventor,  147. 
Fur  trade,  English,  22;  American,  22. 

Gadsden  Purchase,  provisions,  334- 
Gaines,  Gen.  E.  P.,  in  Texas,  229. 
Games'  Mills  (Va.),  battle,  390. 
Gallatin,  Albert,  party  leader,  77,  89,  93 ;  Secre 
tary   of    Treasury,    88,    94,    109;     financial 
policy,  94,  95,  119;   favors  internal  improve 
ments,   101,   160;    Yazoo  policy,   101 ;    un 
popular,   119;    successor,   119;    peace  com 
missioner,  119,  126;   friend,  161;    vice-presi 
dential  candidate,  174;    treaty  with  Creeks, 
1 80;   cited,  1 60. 

Galveston  (Tex.),  Confederate  port,  385 ;  com 
mission  government,  508. 

Garfield,  James  A.,  congressional  leader,  420; 
elected  President,  461 ;  civil  service  reformer, 
461,  462;  death,  462. 

Garrison,  William  L.,  place  in  history,  291; 
character,  292  ;  editor,  292  ;  southern  hatred 
of,  293;  cited,  292,  293. 

General  Land  Office,  commissioner,  525. 

Genet,  E.  C.,  French  Minister,  63  ;  instructions, 
64,  65  ;  recall,  65  ;  western  schemes,  76. 

Geneva,  arbitration  court,  425,  429. 

Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  editors,  292. 

Georgia,  plantation  system,  8;  cedes  western 
lands,  17,  18,  101 ;  adopts  Constitution,  41; 
opposes  tariff,  52,  144,  181 ;  Indians,  61 ; 
electoral  vote,  74,  218,  231;  lands  bought, 
99,  179;  frontier  conditions,  115,  185;  cot 
ton  industry,  140,  146;  slavery  sentiment, 
141;  immigration,  146;  Indian  raid,  169; 
favors  Crawford,  174;  Creek  treaties,  179, 
1 80;  resents  national  interference,  180; 
governs  Cherokee  Indians,  191 ;  nullifica 
tion  convention*  proposed,  205;  Whigs  carry, 
320;  leaders,  328,  339;  secedes,  363,  364; 
governor,  377;  negro  education,  409;  recon 
struction  delayed,  420;  421;  finished,  426 
428 ;  movement  of  population,  434. 

German- Americans,  join  Republicans,  343. 

Germans,  in  Hudson  and  Susquehanna  valleys, 
8,  273;  political  inexperience,  9,  10;  on 
frontier,  u;  immigrants,  274,  511;  politi 
cal  views,  274,  275,  282;  religious,  274; 
influence,  274,  282;  support  Union,  371. 

Germany,  emigration,  273,  274;  Revolution 
of  1848,  274,  275;  treaty,  334;  Spanish- 
American  trade,  483 ;  Samoa,  486,  487,  493  ; 
desires  Philippines,  491,  494;  friendly  atti 
tude,  495 ;  assents  to  open  door  policy,  498 ; 
war  with,  550.  ?""*" 

Gerry,  Elbridge,  opposes  Constitution,  40; 
envoy  to  France,  76;  elected  Governor,  87; 
vice-presidential  candidate,  117. 

Gettysburg  (Pa.),  battle,  391,  393  J  effects,  402. 

Ghent,  treaty  of,  126. 

Gibbons  v.  Ogden,  cited,  130. 

Oilman  v.  McClary,  cited,  25. 

Gilmer,  T.  W.,  Tyler  supporter,  cited,  256. 

Ginseng,  trade  in,  22. 

Girondists,  fall  of,  65. 

Gist,  Gov.  S.  R.,  calls  South  Carolina  legis 
lature,  360. 


Gladstone,  William  E.,  American  policy,  386. 

Joethals,  Col.  G.  W.,  engineer,  528. 

Goethe,   J.  W.    von,   influence     in    America, 

282. 

Sold,  discovered  in  California,  320;    increased 
production,  327,   481;    premium,   383,  418, 
442,  452;    paid  for  customs,  417;    exported, 
442;     currency   basis,    481,    500;     discovery 
affects  immigration,  511. 
Gorgas,  Col.  W.  C.,  sanitation  expert,  528. 
jough,  John  B.,  temperance  worker,  288. 
Gould,  Jay,  tries   to   corner  gold,  442;    Tam 
many  connection,  445. 
jould  railroads,  460,  521. 

Government,   Puritan    theory   of,   3;     colonial 
methods,  13 ;   direct    control    of,    506,    507 ; 
commission  form,  508,  509. 
Granger  Cases,  cited,  456. 
Granger    movement,    organizes    farmers,    456; 

political  power,  456,  467 ;  successor,  474. 
jrant,  U.  S.,  western  campaigns,  391-393; 
Virginia  campaigns,  391 ;  commander-in- 
chief ,  394 ;  presidential  candidate,  419 ;  char 
acter,  419;  election,  420;  relations  with  Con 
gress,  421,  424;  foreign  policy,  424-426; 
break  with  Sumner,  424,  425,  429,  447 ;  re 
construction,  429 ;  opponents,  429 ;  reelection, 
430;  financial  policies,  442,  443;  desires  third 
term,  461. 

Graves  v.  Georgia,  cited,  191. 
Gray,  Capt.  Robert,  explorer,  277. 
Great  Britain,  colonial  land  policy,  17;  western 
forts,  22,  64,  68,  70;  commercial  relations 
with,  22,  23,  62;  financial,  27;  influence  over 
Indians,  60,  61,  68;  relations  with  Spain,  62, 
79,  95,  119,  169,  172,  332;  France,  62,  64,  66, 
75,  96,  97,  102-105,  109,  118,  122;  policy 
toward  neutrals,  65-69,  75,  102-104,  109, 
112,  118;  relations  with  United  States,  71, 
79,  81,  96,  105,  106,  109,  112,  172,  226, 
256-260;  ministers,  78,  109,  112;  War  of 
1812,  114,  116-126;  American  dislike  of, 
114,  116;  relations  with  Russia,  118;  naval 
supremacy,  120,  121;  southern  trade,  142, 
143,  4371  American  competitor,  172,  194, 
270,  271,  441;  abolishes  slave  trade,  258; 
West  Indian  ports,  259;  repeals  corn  laws, 
269,  309;  friendly  to  Texas  republic,  277, 
303,  307;  Oregon  claims,  277,  278,  310; 
Mexican  creditor,  279 ;  slavery,  290 ;  Nicara 
gua,  333;  commercial  treaty,  334,  425;  right 
of  search  settled,  344;  bad  harvests,  379, 
380,  387;  relations  with  Confederacy,  385- 
389;  North,  387-389,  424-426;  Treaty  of 
Washington,  425;  _  expatriation  policy,  425; 
influence  in  Spanish  America,  483 ;  Vene 
zuela  dispute,  484;  Samoa,  486,  487,  493; 
treaty  with  (1846),  486;  American  minister, 
494;  cordiality  increases,  495;  Hay  treaty, 
497 ;  assents  to  open  door  policy,  498. 
Great  Horseshoe  Bend,  battle,  122. 
Great  Northern  Railroad,  builder,  521;  in 

merger,  521. 

Great  Salt  Lake,  Mormons  at,  278,  279. 
Great  War,  in  Europe,  543. 
Greeks,  immigrants,  512. 

Greeley,  Horace,  editor,  281 ;  supports  Douglas, 
348;      favors     peaceable     separation,     367; 


xxi 


INDEX 


presidential    candidate,    429;     "Prayer    of 

Twenty  Millions,"  cited,  399. 
Green,  Dutf,  editor,  187. 
Green  Mountains,  location,  2 ;  roads,  135. 
Greenback  party,  nominates  Peter  Cooper,  451 ; 

platform,  451;  influence,  451;   secures  Bland 

act,  455;  strength,  456;  candidate,  476. 
Greenbacks.     See  Currency. 
Greenville  (O.),  Indian  treaty,  61. 
Grenville,  Lord,  treats  with  Jay,  69. 
Grundy,  Felix,  political  leader,  116. 
Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  treaty,  313. 
Guam,  ceded  to  United  States,  400. 
Guerriere,  sunk  by  Constitution,  120. 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  control  of,  277. 

Habeas  corpus,  writ  suspended  in  North,  369, 
400,  421;  in  South,  377. 

Hague  conference,  496. 

Hail,  Columbia,  author,  77. 

Haiti,  French  possession,  79 ;  black  republic,  179. 

Hale,  Sen.  Eugene,  retires,  528. 

Hale,  John  R.,  Free-Soil  senator,  320. 

"Half -Breeds,"  Republican  faction,  450. 

Halifax,  admiralty  court,  103;  trade,  119. 

Halleck,  Gen.  H.  W.,  at  Corinth,  392.     ' 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  attacks  Articles  of  Con 
federation,  3;  demands  Constitutional  Con 
vention,  32;  extreme  views,  34;  pseudonym 
"Federalist,"  40;  wins  state  convention,  41; 
social  authority,  48,  92;  Secretary  of  Treas 
ury,  50,  52;  assumption  of  state  debts,  53; 
National  Bank,  54,  130,  157;  character,  55; 
relations  with  Jefferson,  56,  84;  favors 
internal  improvements,  60,  78;  attitude 
toward  France,  63, 64,  71, 78-80;  England,  68 ; 
resigns,  71 ;  relations  with  Adams,  74,  75,  78- 
81,  83;  head  of  army,  76;  Burr  challenges, 
100;  death,  100;  constructive  views,  396; 
cited,  78. 

Hampton  Roads,  naval  fight,  385. 

Hancock,  John,  Governor,  25;  disapproves 
Constitution,  41. 

Hancock,  Gen.  Winfield  S.,  presidential  candi 
date,  461. 

Hanna,  Mark,  party  manager,  480,  520,  528. 

Harding,  Warren  G.,  President,  566. 

"Hards,"  Democratic  faction,  319. 

Harmar,  Gen.  Josiah,  Indians  defeat,  61. 

Harmon,  Gov.  Judson,  Attorney-General,  532; 
presidential  candidate,  532. 

Harper,  Robert  G.,  member  of  Congress,  156. 

Harpers  Ferry  (Va.),  seized  by  John  Brown,  353 ; 
by  Virginians,  369. 

Harper's  Magazine,  contributors,  283. 

Harper's  Weekly,  editor,  447. 

Harriman,  E.  H.,  financier,  521. 

Harrisburg  (Pa.),  tariff  convention,  181;  Whig, 
245 ;  Lee's  army  near,  391. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  protectionist,  469;  presi 
dential  candidate,  469;  Hawaiian  policy,  487 ; 
fails  of  reelection,  476;  ability,  476. 

Harrison,  W.  H.,  delegate  to  Congress,  59;  de 
feats^  Indians,  115,122,  192,  231;  presidential 
candidate,  231,  246;  vote  for,  231-232;  cam 
paign  methods,  246,  247;  nicknames,  246; 
cabinet,  249,  252;  quarrel  with  Clay,  250; 
death,  250;  successor,  302, 


Hartford  Convention,  action,  124,  125;  injures 
Federalists,  128. 

Harvard  University,  Germanic  museum,  495. 

Hatteras  Inlet,  seized,  384. 

Havana  (Cuba),  trade  with,  21 ;  Maine  visits, 
488. 

Hawaiian  Islands,  early  traders,  486 ;  American 
policy,  487  ;  territory,  493. 

Hawley,  Sen.  J.  R.,  death,  528. 

Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,  influences,  153,  282; 
Marble  Faun,  283 ;  author,  285. 

Hay,  John,  Lincoln's  secretary,  493 ;  Ambassa 
dor  to  England,  494 ;  Secretary  of  State,  494, 
496 ;  British  treaty,  497 ;  successor,  497 ; 
open  door  policy,  498. 

Hayes,  Rutherford  B.,  presidential  candidate, 
447;  chosen  by  electoral  commission,  448, 
449 ;  civil  service  reformer,  450 ;  canal  policy, 
485;  successor,  461. 

Hayne,  Robert  Y.,  debate  with  Webster,  201, 
205,  207.  < 

Helper,  Hinton  R.,  author,  352. 

Hemp,  article  of  commerce,  148. 

Henry,  Prince  of  Prussia,  visits  America,  495. 

Henry,  John,  British  spy,  116. 

Henry,  Patrick,  t3rpical  planter,  7 ;  governor, 
25 ;  Revolutionary  leader,  33 ;  opposes  Con 
stitution,  40^-42. 

Hepburn  v.  Griswold,  cited,  422. 

"Hermitage,"  Jackson's  home,  234. 

Hill,  B.  H.,  leads  faction  in  South,  428. 

Hill,  Isaac,  member  ''Kitchen  Cabinet,"  187. 

Hill,  James  J.,  financier,  521. 

Hitchcock,  F.  H.,  Postmaster-General,  528. 

Hoar,  Judge  Samuel,  forced  to  leave  South 
Carolina,  293. 

Holland,  treaty  with,  22;  bankers  loan  to 
United  States,  24. 

Holmes,  Oliver  W.,  influence,  153. 

Holmes  v.  Walton,  cited,  25. 

Holy  Alliance,  affects  America,  170. 

Homestead  (Pa.),  labor  strike,  478. 

Homestead  Act,  provisions,  396 ;  operation,  438. 

Hood,  Gen.  J.  B.,  supersedes  Johnston,  394. 

Hoover,  Herbert  C.,  Food  Administrator,  554. 

Hopkinson,  Joseph,  writes  national  anthem,  77. 

House  of  Representatives,  representation  in,  35, 
163,  164;  how  chosen,  39;  relations  with  Sen 
ate,  46;  first  clash  with  executive,  48;  supports 
Adams,  76;  speakers,  80,  88,  116,  167,  447, 
468,  470,  527;  chooses  President,  83,  176; 
admits  reporters,  92;  speakership  contests, 
340,  352;  impeaches  Johnson,  415;  procedure, 
470. 

Houston,  Gen.  Samuel,  in  Texas,  229. 

Hoyt,  Jesse,  Collector  of  Port,  242. 

Hudson  Bay  Company,  in  Oregon,  277. 

Hudson  River  valley,  character  of  population, 
8;  patroon  grants,  299. 

Huguenots,  in  South  Carolina,  113. 

Hull,  Capt.  Isaac,  120. 

Hull,  Gen.  William,  surrenders  Detroit,  122. 

Hull-House,  aims,  513. 

Hulsemann,  Baron,  Austrian  representative, 
327. 

Humanitarianism,  shown  in  literature,  153; 
growth,  289-290,  517. 

Hungarians,  immigrants,  511. 


XX11 


INDEX 


'Hunkers,"  Democratic  faction,  3ig. 

Hunter,  Gen.  David,  embarrasses  administra 
tion,  398. 

"Hunters'  Lodges,"  Canadian  sympathizers 
form,  243. 

Hylton  v.  United  States,  cited,  51. 

Iberville  River,  boundary,  in. 

Icelanders,  immigrants,  511. 

Idaho,  admitted  to  Union,  471. 

Illinois,  in  Revolution,  64;  Indians,  115;  ad 
mitted  to  Union,  146,  164;  state  rights 
party,  166;  land  question,  173;  electoral 
vote,  175;  Indian  title  extinguished,  179, 
191;  population,  192,  501;  builds  canals, 
225,264;  Oregon  emigrants,  278;  Mormons, 
279;  abolition  newspaper,  294;  free  state, 
345.  359?  elements  of  population,  349,  439. 
511;  political  tendencies,  349;  Lincoln- 
Douglas  debates,  349-35* ;  elects  Douglas, 
351;  Democrats  win,  401;  Copperheads, 
402 ;  public  domain,  438 ;  power  of  Grangers, 
456;  governor,  478;  farms  increase,  439; 
primaries,  528. 

Illinois  Central  Railroad,  266,  521. 

Immigration,  increase  of  foreign,  271,  272,  275; 
causes,  271;  financial  panics  affect,  271; 
sources,  272,  273;  causes  labor  troubles, 
272;  political  issue,  273;  distribution,  433, 
440,  510-513;  ceases  during  war,  437;  re 
vival,  438,  439;  character,  512,  513;  prob 
lems,  513. 

Impeachments,  Federalist  judges,  93 ;  Johnson, 
414-416. 

Impending  Crisis,  creates  sensation,  352. 

Imperialism,  political  issue,  493,  522. 

"  Implied  Powers,"  discussed,  82,  97,  130. 

Impressments,  67,  103,  104,  117. 

Inclosures.    See  Sheep  raising. 

Income  tax,  537. 

Indemnities,  trouble  with  France  over,  227. 

Independence,  acknowledged,  i. 

Independent  Treasury,  Van  Buren's  plan,  237; 
act  repealed,  252;  reestablished,  308. 

India,  exports  cotton,  142, 374 ;  silver  policy,  477. 

Indiana,  Indians,  115;  territorial  governor, 
115;  admission  to  Union,  146,  164;  state 
rights  party,  166;  Indian  title  extinguished, 
179;  builds  canals,  225,  264;  presidential 
vote,  232,  470;  sources  of  population,  349; 
governors,  381,  532;  Democrats,  401,  448; 
Copperheads,  402. 

Indians,  friends  of  Spain,  21,  60;  England,  22, 
6p,  68;  policy  tdv;ards  (1790),  60,  61 ;  trea 
ties,  61,  71 ;  begin  war  in  Northwest,  61,  114; 
defeated,  70,  115,  122,  126,  192;  Jefferson's 
policy,  99,  114,  190;  object  to  land  sales, 
114,  179,  242;  leaders,  115,  122;  trouble 
with,  in  Georgia,  169, 179, 180;  J.  Q.  Adams's 
policy,  179,  180;  Jackson's,  190,  191,  206, 
213;  removed  beyond  Mississippi,  191,  242; 
in  Oregon,  277;  threaten  frontier,  438;  de 
frauded,  444;  defeat  Gen.  Custer,  444;  in 
reservations,  501,  502. 

Indian  Territory,  in  Civil  War,  371. 

Indigo,  staple  southern  product,  6;  cotton 
displaces,  140. 

Industrial  unions,  formation,  475. 


Industrial  Workers  of  World,  organization,  513. 

Initiative,  states  adopt,  507. 

In  re  Garland,  cited,  421. 

Insular  Cases,  cited,  492. 

Insurance,  regulation,  509. 

Interior  Department,  Secretary,  464,  525. 

Internal  improvements,  Hamilton  favors,  78; 
Jefferson,  101 ;  Republicans,  109,  343 ;  New 
England,  136,  139;  Middle  States,  139;  po 
litical  issue,  139,  217;  West,  147,  192;  Clay, 
149,  210;  Congress  aids,  160,  161,  173,  266, 
335  J  J-  Q-  Adams,  178,  179,  210;  Jackson's 
views,  192,  195,  210;  by  states,  225;  Demo 
crats  oppose,  231. 

Interstate  commerce.  See  Commerce;  also 
Railroads. 

Interstate  Commerce  Act,  provisions,  467,  527; 
amended,  522. 

Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  established, 
467;  aided  by  state  laws,  510;  powers,  522; 
extended,  526;  decisions,  531. 

Iowa,  Fourierism,  279;  prohibition  law,  289; 
pioneers,  335;  population,  439;  power  of 
Grangers,  456;  growth^  501. 

Ireland,  causes  of  emigration,  272;  Fenian  agi 
tation,  426. 

Irish,  causes  of  immigration,  272;  labor  com 
petition,  272,  440;  religion,  272;  political 
activity,  272,  274;  rioting  against,  273;  in 
Fenian  agitation,  426;  immigrants,  511; 
adaptability,  513. 

Iron,  tariff,  159;   in  South,  436;   mining,  501. i 

Iroquois,  in  New  York,  61. 

Irrigation,  development,  502,  503;  government 
aid,  524. 

Irving,  Washington,  author,  153,  283. 

Isthmus  of  Panama,  neutrality  guaranteed,  333. 

Italy,  friendly  to  North,  385;  emigration,  512. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  defeats  Indians,  122,  192;  at 
New  Orleans,  125, 126;  seizes  Florida,  169;  re 
lations  with  Clay,  175;  character,  175;  elec 
toral  vote,  176, 182, 185-187,  218,  231 ;  popu 
lar  vote,  177,  182,  231;  supporters,  178,  182, 
194,  214;  tariff  views,  181,  182,  204,  206; 
elected  President,  182;  /'democracy,"  184, 
186,  213,  220;  inauguration,  184,  185;  cabi 
net,  187,203;  advisers,  187,  202,  214;  Indian 
policy,  190,  191,  213,  218,  292;  internal  im 
provement,  192,  193,  217;  vetoes,  192,  193, 
215,  226;  relations  with  Calhoun,  202,  203, 
217,  218;  supports  Union,  202,  208,  210; 
deals  with  nullification,  205,  208,  220;  fears 
banks,  212,  213;  bank  message  cited,  214; 
political  courage,  215,  224;  opposition  to 
reelection,  216,  232;  reelection,  218,  220;  re 
moves  deposits,  221;  Senate  censures,  222; 
foreign  policy,  226;  commercial  policy,  226, 
227;  issues  "Specie  Circular,"  226,^235,  236, 
477;  French  policy,  227,  228;  dealings  with 
Mexico,  228-230;  retirement,  233,  234;  suc 
cess,  233,  249;  judicial  appointments,  238; 
Van  Buren,  261,  304;  Kendall,  293;  favors 
annexation  of  Texas,  304;  education,  365; 
legislative  program,  396;  state  rights,  430; 
cited,  188,  190,  191,  194,  206,  212. 

Jackson,  Francis  James,  British  Minister, 
no. 


INDEX 


Jackson,  Gen.  Thomas  J.,  characteristics,  374, 
375;  campaigns,  390. 

Jacksonian  Democracy,  character,  184,  231. 

Jacobins,  nickname  of  Republicans,  78,  89. 

James  River,  route  via,  60;  trade  ro»te,  139; 
Grant  crosses,  390. 

Japan,  opens  ports,  486;  assents  to  open  door 
policy,  498;  peace  with  Russia,  523. 

Japanese,  immigration  problem,  512,  513. 

Java,  Constitution  defeats,  120. 

Jay,  John,  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  14; 
treaty  with  Spain,  23;  pseudonym  "Feder 
alist,"  40 ;  Chief  Justice,  49,  50 ;  treaty  with 
England,  68,  69;  violates  instructions,  69. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  typical  planter,  7 ;  plans 
surveys,  19;  plan  for  Northwest,  19;  coinage 
scheme,  24;  favors  disestablishment,  _  25 ; 
Secretary  of  State,  50,  53 ;  opposes  National 
Bank,  54,  55  ;  Hamilton,  56;  resigns,  56,  71 ; 
heads  new  party,  56,  68;  commercial  policy, 
62,  68,  374;  friend  of  France,  63,  64,  71; 
electoral  vote,  74 ;  Vice  President,  75 ;  skill  as 
leader,  82, 83, 89, 100;  writes  Kentucky  Reso 
lutions,  82,  200;  presidential  candidate,  83; 
election,  84,  99;  inauguration,  86 ;  character, 
87,88,90;  home,  87;  followers,  88,  89;  ap 
pointment  policy,  91 ;  reduces  diplomatic 
corps,  94;  army  and  navy,  94,  118,  120; 
Mississippi  policy,  95-97;  Indian  policy,  99; 
encourages  exploration,  99;  broad  construc 
tion  view,  100,  101,  129;  foreign  policy,  102- 
106;  successor,  108;  favors  religious  liberty, 
109;  relies  on  militia,  123;  cabinet,  175; 
checks  centralization,  184;  removals,  188; 
internal  improvements,  193;  bank,  212; 
founds  University,  283;  legislative  program, 
396 ;!  cited,  54,  55,91,92,  94,96,  100,101,  163. 

Jefferson  City  (Mo.),  saved  for  Union,  371. 

Jeffersonian  Democracy,  character  of,  180,  184, 
232,  246,  308. 

Jenckes,  Thomas,  civil  service  reformer,  447. 

Jesup,  Gen.  T.  S.,  in  Seminole  War,  242. 

Jews,  Roumanian,  496. 

Johnson,  Andrew,  military  governor,  403 ;  Vice 
President,  405 ;  President,  407 ;  character, 
408 ;  reconstruction  policy,  408,  409 ;  amnesty 
proclamation,  408;  struggle  with  Congress, 
410,  411,  430;  impeachment,  414-416,  422. 

Johnson,  Col.  Richard  M.,  political  leader,  116, 
156;  vice -presidency  candidate,  230;  Senate 
elects,  233. 

Johnson-Clarendon  agreement,  Senate  rejects, 
425. 

Johnston,  Gen.  Albert  S.,  at  Shiloh,  392. 

Johnston,  Gen.  Joseph  E.,  campaign,  394. 

Jones,  Willie,  Anti-Federalist  leader,  cited,  42. 

Judiciary,  high  character,  25,  50,  51 ;  organiza 
tion  of  national,  50,  78;  criticized,  82,  92,  93, 
530;  increased  prestige,  130. 

Juillard  v.  Greeman,  cited,  422. 

Kanawha  River,  trade  routes,  12,  139,  146. 

Kansas,  organization  proposed,  336;  struggle 
for,  340 ;  popular  sovereignty  in,  341 ;  first 
election,  341 ;  Topeka  convention,  341 ; 
territorial  governors,  341 ;  violence  in,  346, 
347,  352 1  second  election,  347;  Lecompton 
constitution,  347;  Buchanan  recommends 


admission,  347 ;  Lecompton  debate,  347,  348; 
refuses  to  ratify  Constitution,  348;  popula 
tion,  439 ;  admitted  to  Union,  439 ;  power  of 
Grangers,  456;  economic  distress,  475; 
People's  party,  475,  476. 

Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  provisions,  336;  debate, 
337;  effect  on  party  lines,  337~339- 

Kansas  River,  surveys  demanded,  335. 

Kendall,  Amos*  member  "Kitchen  Cabinet," 
187;  Postmaster-General,  293. 

Kentucky,  blue-grass  region,  8;  immigration, 
12;  in  War  of  1812,  14,  125  ;  part  of  Virginia, 
20,  28;  settlers,  21;  Spanish  influence  in, 
22;  district  court,  50;  admitted  to  Union, 
59,  164;  electoral  vote,  74,  218;  character  of 
settlers,  87;  frontier  conditions,  115;  polit 
ical  leaders,  116;  bank  failures,  148;  favors 
tariff,  148;  supports  Jackson,  192;  state 
banks,  212;  school  system,  286;  anti- 
slavery  sentiment,  291 ;  proslavery,  294 ; 
stays  in  Union,  370,  371 ;  Confederate 
soldiers,  374;  invaded,  392;  McKinley 
carries,  481. 

Kentucky  Resolutions,  cited,  82,  83. 

Key,  Francis  Scott,  author,  123. 

King,  Ruf us,  Minister  to  England,  78,  178; 
electoral  vote,  100,  162;  vice-presidential 
candidate,  100,  108;  member  of  Congress, 
128,  156;  presidential  candidate,  162;  favors 
restriction  of  slavery,  166. 

Kings  Mountain,  battle,  n. 

"Kitchen  Cabinet,"  members,  187. 

"Knights  of  Golden  Circle."    See  Copperheads. 

Knights  of  Labor,  Noble  Order  of,  founded,  458. 

Know-Nothing  party.     See  American  party. 

"Know  ye"  party,  origin  of  name,  28. 

Knox,  Gen.  Henry,  Secretary  of  War,  14,  50. 

Knox,  P.  C.,  Attorney-General,  525 ;  Secretary 
of  State,  525. 

Knox  v.  Lee,  cited,  422. 

Kramer,  George,  member  of  Congress,  176; 
cited,  177. 

Ku-Klux  Klan,  methods,  428 ;  suppression,  429. 

Labor,  legislation,  289,  438,  458,  459,  463; 
slavery,  290,  356-357;  problem  in  South, 
433-436,  516;  in  North,  437,  440;  strikes, 
437,  458,  478,  520;  scarcity,  438;  coolie, 
441 ;  changing  conditions,  458 ;  struggle  with 
capital,  458;  organization,  458,  461,  478, 
513 ;  political  activity,  459,  461 ;  in  protected 
industries,  468,  469,  511;  .foreign,  511-513; 
department  of,  created,  520. 

Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  flees  from  France,  63. 

La  Follette,  Robert  M.,  Progressive  leader,  527 ; 
presidential  candidate,  531,  532. 

Lake  Champlain,  trade  route,  69,  135 ;  in  War 
of  1812,  122,  123. 

Lake  Erie,  as  boundary,  18;  Perry  controls, 
122;  canal  route  to,  138. 

Lake  Shore  Railroad,  rioters,  299. 

"Lancastrian  System,"  in  New  York,  286. 

Lands,  colonies  cede  western,  17,  18;  govern 
ment  surveys  and  sales,  18,  19,  59-61 ;  boun 
ties,  18,  20,  21 ;  speculation,  19,  223-225, 
241;  purchase  of  Indian,  99,  114,  179; 
offices,  114;  conditions  of  sale,  114,  144,  173, 
174,  193-196;  Jackson's  policy,  193-196, 


XXIV 


INDEX 


210;  amount  of  public  sales,  224,  240; 
prices,  228,  229;  distribution  of  proceeds, 
255,  256,  438,  441,  524;  railroad  grants, 
266,  438;  Homestead  Act,  396,  438;  pre 
emption  law,  473. 

Langdon,  John,  elected  Governor,  86. 

Lawrence  (Kan.),  burned,  347. 

League  of  Nations,  565. 

Lecompton  (Kan.),  proslavery  convention,  347. 

Ledyard,  John,  explorer,  99. 

Lee,  Robert  E.,  southern  ideal,  374,  375; 
campaigns,  390,  393,  394;  surrender,  393,  405; 
reconstruction  views,  428. 

Lemmon  case,  appealed,  351. 

1'Enfant,  Major  P.  C.,  plans  city  of  Washington, 
86. 

Leopard,  fires  on  Chesapeake,  194. 

Lewis,  Major  W.  B.,  member  "Kitchen 
Cabinet,"  187,  214. 

Lewis,  Meriwether,  explorer,  99,  277. 

Lexington  (Mass.) ,  first  normal  school  in  Amer 
ica,  286. 

Liberal  Republicans,  429,  430. 

Liberator,  founded,  292;  abolition  organ,  293. 

Liberia,  negro  colony,  291. 

Liberty  Loans,  552-553. 

Liberty  party,  formation,  295;  candidate, 
295,  306;  holds  balance  of  power,  306; 
nucleus  of  Free-Soil  party,  318,  319. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  viewsjjon  national  conven 
tions,  190;  Wilmot  Proviso,  315;  nominated 
for  senator,  349;  debates  with  Douglas, 
34Q-35I;  defeated,  351;  presidential  nomi 
nation,  355,  356;  election,  357;  electoral 
vote,  358;  result  of  election,  360,  363;  re 
fuses  Crittenden  amendment,  361,  362; 
inauguration,  365,  367;  characterized,  365, 
367,  381;  decides  to  relieve  Fort  Sumter, 
367;  calk  for  troops,  368;  Maryland,  370; 
Kentucky  policy,  370;  appointments,  380; 
cabinet,  380,  381;  declares  blockade,  384, 
387;  states  object  of  war,  386;  emancipa 
tion,  389,  399,  400,  402;  guiding  purpose, 
398;  usurpation  of  power  attacked,  400, 
401,  402;  reconstruction  policy,  403,  404; 
reelection,  405;  assassination,  407;  suc 
cessor,  407,  408 ;  i  favors  education  of  negroes, 
409;  disregards  Supreme  Court,  421;  cited, 
304,  362. 

Lincoln,  Gen.  Benjamin,  Secretary  of  War,  14. 

Linn,  Sen.  L.  F.,  knowledge  of  Far  West,  278. 

Liverpool,  cotton  market,  140,  142. 

Livingston,  Edward,  Secretary  of  State,  203, 
205. 

Livingston,  Robert  R.,  Secretary  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  14 ;  Minister  to  France,  97 ;  patron 
of  Fulton,  130. 

Local  government,  in  New  England,  4;  South, 
7;  Middle  States,  10. 

Locke,  John,  theory  of  government,  3;  in 
fluence,  33. 

Loco-Focos,  favor  annexation,  304. 

Lodge,  Sen.  Henry  C.,  frames  Force  Bill,  470. 

Longstreet,  Gen.  James,  at  Chattanooga,  393. 

Lookout  Mountain,  battle,  393. 

Lopez,  Gen.  Narcisco,  Cuban  filibusterer,  332. 
Louis  XVI,  friend  of  America,  63;    effect  of 
death,  63,  64. 


Louisiana,  French  population,  63;  Spanish, 
64;  ceded  to  France,  95;  to  United  States, 
97 ;  organization,  98,  99 ;  frontier  conditions, 
115;  admitted  to  Union,  115,  145,  164; 
population  (1814),  123;  economic  conditions, 
145,  146;  favors  sugar  tariff,  159;  treaty 
of  purchase,  166,  169;  electoral  vote,  175; 
Indian  title  extinguished,  179;  Whigs  carry, 
320;  holds  specie  reserves,  345;  secedes, 
364 ;  invaded,  392 ;  military  governor,  403 ; 
reconstruction,  404,  408,  448,  449;  double 
election  returns,  448. 

Louisiana  Purchase,  indefinite  terms,  305 ;  con 
stitutional  points,  307  ;  status  of  slavery,  346. 

Louisville  (Ky.),  trade,  139;  Confederates 
threaten,  392. 

Lovejoy,  Elijah  P.,  murdered,  294. 

Lowell,  F.  C.,  inventor,  133. 

Lowell,  James  Russell,  Biglow  Papers,  cited, 
318. 

Lowell  (Mass.),  growth,  133 ;  factory  condi 
tions,  134;  strike  of  1912,  513. 

Lowndes,  William,  in  Congress,  114, 156;  favors 
navy,  116;  protection,  142. 

Loyalists,  become  English  officials,  22;  settle  in 
Canada,  121. 

"Loyalists,"  in  South,  426. 

Lumber,  exported,  23 ;  in  Northwest,  439,  440 ; 
South,  436. 

Lundy,  Benjamin,  emancipationist,  292. 

Lusitania,  545. 

Lyceums,  influence,  287. 

Lynchburg  (Va.),  rail  route  via,  389,  391. 

Lyon,  Capt.  Nathaniel,  St.  Louis,  commandant, 
371- 

Lyons,  Lord,  Minister  to  United  States,  387. 

Maclay,  Sen.  William,  cited,  42. 
McClellan,  Gen.  George  B.,  in  Virginia,  390; 
political  views,  401;    presidential  candidate. 

4°5- 

McCormick  reaper,  invented,  267. 
McCulloch,  Hugh,  Secretary  of  Treasury,  417; 

currency  plan,  418,  442. 
McCulloch  v.  Maryland,  cited,  130. 
Macdonough,    Commodore    Thomas,    victory, 

McDuffie,  George,  opposes  tariff,  143,  197,  iQ-8 ; 
favors  Bank,  214;  cited,  144. 

Macedonian,  United  States  defeats,  120. 

McGillivray,  Alexander,  Creek  chief,  61. 

McHenry,  James,  letter  to,  cited,  23. 

McKean,  Thomas,  elected  Governor,  86;  re 
moves  opponents,  90. 

MacKenzie,  William  L.,  attacks  Van  Buren,  243. 

McKinley,  William,  frames  tariff,  471,  473; 
Ohio  Governor,  479;  presidential  candidate, 
479,520;  campaign,  480;  election,  481 ;  for 
eign  policy,  483,  487,  494;  Cuban,  488-490; 
de  Lome  attacks,  488;  reelection,  493;  as 
sassination,  519. 

McLane,  Louis,  Secretary  of  Treasury,  203,  214, 
221;  of  State,  221. 

McLaughlin,  Dr.  John,  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
factor,  277. 

McLean,  member  of  Congress,  156;  dissents 
from  Taney,  346. 

McLean,  John,  Illinois  politician,  213. 


XXV 


INDEX 


McLeod,  Alexander,  causes  international  flurry, 

257- 
Macon,  Nathaniel,  Speaker,  88;  defeated,  102; 

commercial  bills,  no;  in  Congress,  156. 
Macon  Bill,  provisions,  no,  112,  113. 
Madison.  James,  favors  disestablishment,  25; 

centralization,  31;  leader  in  Constitutional 


82,  200;  Secretary  of  State,  88,  175;  party 
leader,  89,  101,  108;  elected  President,  108, 
117;  appointments,  109;  domestic  policy, 
109;  foreign,  100-113,  116,  118;  reelected, 
117;  lacks  vigor,  120;  favors  limited  protec 
tion,  158;  vetoes  "Bonus  Bill,"  161,  192; 
civil  service  practice,  178;  cited,  43. 

Madison  (Wis.),  early  land  sales,  224. 

Madrid,  Spanish  capital,  489. 

Maine,  Massachusetts  includes,  4;  frontier 
population,  12;  threatens  to  secede,  28  j  dis 
trict  court,  50 ;  sheep  raising,  134 ;  applies  for 
admission,  166 ;  electoral  vote,  218 ;  troubles  of, 
248,  259,  260 ;  Whigs  lose,  260 ;  adopts  prohi 
bition,  288 ;  Republican  party  organized,  338. 

Maine,  battleship,  sent  to  Havana,  488;  de 
stroyed,  489. 

Malvern  Hill  (Va.),  battle,  390. 

Manassas  (Va.),  battles,  390. 

Mangum,  Willie  P.,  electoral  vote,  233. 

Manila  (P.  I.),  Dewey  attacks,  400. 

Mann,  Horace,  educator,  286. 

Manufactures,  in  New  England,  133,  136,  138, 
440;  amount  of  woolen,  (1815)  133;  factory 
conditions,  133,  134;  in  South,  142,  376; 
owners  petition  Congress,  158;  cotton,  142, 
IS9»  374?  English  competition,  172,  194; 
growth,  268,  440,  458,  501 ;  markets,  268,  269, 
514;  in  North,  379;  by  corporations,  441. 

Marbury  v.  Madison,  cited,  129. 

Marcy,  W.  L.,  Secretary  of  War,  308;  Demo 
cratic  leader,  329;  Secretary  of  State,  331, 

Marietta  (6.),  founded,  21. 

Marshall,  John,  urges  adoption  of  Constitution, 
41 ;  envoy  to  France,  76 ;  Secretary  of  State, 
80;  Chief  Justice,  84,  93;  dominates  Court, 
93,  129;  decisions,  129-130,  191;  influence, 

130. 131, 174,  201,  213,  218;  personality,  131; 
death,  237;  successor,  237;  cited,  29. 

Marshall,  Thomas,  vice-presidential  candidate, 
532- 

Martin,  Luther,  in  Constitutional  Convention, 
34 ;  opposes  adoption,  40. 

Martin  v.  Hunter's  Lessee,  cited,  129. 

Maryland,  plantation  system,  8;  Catholics  in, 
13;  urges  western  cessions,  17;  joins  Con 
federation,  17;  dispute  with  Virginia,  32; 
adopts  Constitution,  41 ;  electoral  vote,  100, 

108. 151, 175,  232, 344, 481 ;  favors  protection, 
136;  antislavery  sentiment,  141 ;  taxes  United 
States  Bank,  158;  character  of  Democracy, 
186;  politically  uncertain,  230;  held  in  Union, 
369, 371 ;  secession,  369;  Coafederate  soldiers, 
374;  Lee  invades,  390,  392 ;  adopts  emancipa 


tion,  402 ;  new  constitution,  427. 
Mason,  George,  in  Constitutional  Convention, 


34- 


Mason,  J.  Y.,  Minister  to  France,  332. 

Mason,  James  M.,  Confederate  envoy,  388. 

Mason,  Jeremiah,  member  of  Congress,  156. 

Mason  and  Dixon  Line,  sectional  boundary,  163, 
293,  356»  357,  Sop. 

Massachusetts,  claims  western  lands,  17;  cedes 
to  government,  18 ;  dispute  with  New  York, 
18;  abolishes  slavery,  26;  and  Maine,  28; 
favors  sound  money,  28;  Shays's  Rebellion,  28, 
32;  Vermont,  29;  votes  in  state  constitu 
tion,  40;  national,  41 ;  governs,  87,  381,  532 ; 
Republicans  gain,  91;  protest  of  legislature, 
106 ;  shipping,  no ;  calls  Hartford  Convention, 
124;  sends  commissioners  to  Washington,  125, 
126;  sheep  raising,  134;  banks,  148,  238,  240; 
alters  constitution,  150;  religious  sects,  152, 
285;  electoral  vote,  162,  231;  divides  terri 
tory,  166;  Fourierism,  279;  school  system, 
286;  slavery  ended,  290;  trouble  with  South 
Carolina,  293;  rioting,  299;  Whigs,  strong, 
3375  growth  of  population,  501 ;  educational 
suffrage,  507;  park  commission,  508;  labor 
laws,  438. 

Matamoras  (Mex.),  skirmish,  312;  smuggling, 
385,  387. 

Matthews,  Father,  temperance  worker,  288. 

Maysville  Road  Bill,  vetoed,  192. 

Meade,  Gen.  George,  defeats  Lee,  391. 

Meat  Inspection  Law,  enforcement,  524. 

Mechanicsville  (Va.),  battle;  390. 

Mediterranean  Sea,  pirates  infest,  22,  102. 

Memphis  (Tenn.),  rail  connections,  392. 

Merchant  >  marine,  development,  270,  335; 
British  rivalry,  271:  decline,  386,  424,  441. 

Merrimac,  made  into  Virginia,  385. 

Merrimac  River,  trade  route,  135. 

Merryman  case,  cited,  421. 

Methodist  church,  fosters  nationalism,  31; 
growth,  153;  Indian  mission,  277;  divides, 
298;  Clay  joins,  323. 

Metternich,  Prince,  cited,  239. 

Mexican  war,  causes,  311,  312;  battles,  312, 
313;  results,  313,  314;  political  issue,  314. 

Mexico,  gains  independence,  168;  American 
boundary,  169;  Texas  revolts  from,  228,  229, 
277;  president,  229;  withdraws  minister,  229, 
311;  American  debtor,  230;  emigration  to, 
279;  British  debtor,  280;  resents  annexation, 
310;  negotiations  with,  311,  315;  war  begins, 
312,  486;  treaty,  313,  320,  486;  Wilmot  Pro 
viso,  315;  Gadsden  treaty,  334;  disturb 
ances  (1857),  344,  (recent)  542;  possible  slave 
territory,  362 ;  French  in,  389,  423. 

Michigan,  British  control,  122;  Indian  title  ex 
tinguished,  179;  admission  to  Union,  231, 
276;  repudiates  debt,  239;  electoral  vote, 
306;  Republican  convention,  338;  public 
domain,  438;  salt  industry,  440;  growth  of 
population,  501. 

Middle  States,  topography,^,  9;  character  of 
population,  8-10;  economic  conditions,  9, 10^; 
political,  9,  10;  population  (1783),  10;  emi 
gration.  21 ;  exports,  23 ;  favor  protection,  136 ; 
internal  improvements,  138,  139;  western 
trade,  138, 139 ;  vote  on  Missouri  Compromise, 
167 ;  electoral  vote,  176;  intellectual  awaken 
ing,  283;  Confederacy  hopes  for,  364.  See 
also  the  several  states. 


xxvi 


INDEX 


Midway  Island,  coaling  station,  493. 
Migration,  134,  138,  144,  275,  280,  439,  501- 
Milan  Decree,  issued,  104;  revoked,  112. 
Miles,  Gen.  Nelson  A.,  occupies  Porto  Rico,  490. 
Militia,    mobilization    (1813),    122;     Jefferson 

relies  on,  123;   disaffected,  124,  125. 
Mills  Bill.     See  Tariff. 
Milwaukee  (Wis.),  manufactures,  440. 
Mining,    in    California,    321;     Colorado    and 

Nevada,  379;    South,  436;    gold,  442;    ex 

tension,  474;  silver,  477  ;  Bureau  established, 

520. 

Minneapolis  (Minn.),  manufactures,  440. 
Minnesota,    free    soil,    345;     admission,    348; 

farms  increase,  439  ;  power  of  Grangers,  456  ; 

foreign  immigration,  511. 
Miranda,  Don  Francisco  de,  plots  revolution, 

79;    death,  168. 

Missionaries,  in  Oregon,  277,  278;  Hawaii,  486. 
Missionary  Ridge  (Tenn.),  battle,  393. 
Mississippi,  cotton  cultivation,  144;    admitted 

to  Union,  146,  164;    Indian  lands,  179,  191; 

population,  192;    electoral  vote,  218;    state 

bank  failures,   238;    debt  repudiated,    238; 

calls     southern     convention,     322;      favors 

Compromise   of    1850,    328;     secedes,    364; 

invaded,  392;   reconstruction  late,  420,  421; 

movement  of   population,   434;    public  do 

main,  438  ;  farms  increase,  439. 
Mississippi  River,  as  boundary,  17,  18,  26,  438, 

500;   navigation  disputed,  21,  23,  65;   strug 

gle  for  control,  06.  100,  123;    Indian  lands 

bought,  99;  trade  route,  121,  145,  202,  265- 

267,   369;    navigation   methods,    147;     res 

ervation  beyond,  191  ;    cotton  culture,  267  ; 

military  operations,  392  ;    effect  of  closing, 

441. 
Mississippi  valley,  settlers,  114,  146  ;    democ 

racy,   151,  152;    growth  of  population,  276; 

Confederacy  hopes  for,  364. 
Missouri,  character  of  settlers,  144;   land  sales, 

144;  admitted  to  Union,  146,  167,  242,  276; 

congressional  debate  on,  165,  166;    Compro 

mises,  166,  167;   constitution,  167,  421,  427; 

Mormons,  279;    school  system,  286;    rejects 

Benton,   329;    pioneers,  335;    sends  voters 

into    Kansas,    341;     Union    element,    371; 

Confederate  soldiers,   374;    adopts  emanci 

pation,     402;      Republican     factions,     429; 

farms  increase,  439;    Bryan  carries,  481. 
Missouri    Compromise,    extension,    307,    314, 

315;  interpretation,  316,  339,  346;  discussion 

of,  317;   repeal,  335,  336. 
Missouri  Pacific  KauTTOad,  in  merger,  521. 
Missouri    River,    explored,    99;     trade    route, 

266,    277;     fur   trade,    278;     as    boundary, 

438,  481  ;  settlements,  439. 
Mobile  (Ala.),  Americans  seize,  169;    Confed 

erate  port,  385  ;   rail  connections,  392. 
Mohawk  valley,  New  England  immigrants,  5; 

canal,  138. 

Molasses,  trade  in,  23  ;  duty  on,  52. 
Monarchy,  considered,  31. 
Money  Trust,  investigated,  530. 
Monitor,  fights  Virginia,  385. 
Monongahela  River,  route  via,  21. 
Monroe,  James,  commissioner  to  France,  75, 

England, 


96,  97  ;  views,  88,  xox  ;  Minister  to 


103;  Secretary  of  State,  113,  117,  119,  161, 
162,  175;  presidential  candidate,  108,  161 ; 
cabinet,  162;  governor  of  Virginia,  162; 
Secretary  of  War,  162 ;  character,  162 ;  elec 
toral  vote,  162,  163,  167;  crisis  of  adminis 
tration,  163 ;  signs  Missouri  Compromise, 
167;  in  Florida  Purchase,  169;  favors  Eng 
lish  alliance,  170;  announces  "Doctrine," 
,  i72j  vetoes  toll-road  bill,  173,  192. 
oe  Doctrine,  announced,  171;  effects, 
172;  bearing  on  Clayton-Bulwer  treaty, 
333;  Oregon  dispute,  310;  Maximilian  affair, 
423;  Venezuela,  484;  Hawaii,  487;  Cuba, 
493;  undisturbed,  483;  new  extension,  484, 
540. 

Montana,  admitted  to  Union,  471;  Roosevelt's 
residence,  519. 

Monterey  (Mex.),  Taylor  occupies,  312. 

Montgomery  (Ala.),  constitutional  convention, 
364- 

Montreal,  American  trade,  69,  70. 

Morgan,  J.  Pierpont,  478,  520,  521,  530. 

Morgan,  William,  exposes  Masonry,  216. 

Mormons,  founder,  278;  settlements,  278,  379; 
missionaries,  279. 

Morocco,  treaty  with,  22. 

Morrill  Act.     See  Tariff. 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  opposes  Twelfth  Amend 
ment,  250. 

Morris,  Robert,  Superintendent  of  Finance,  14 ; 
favors  National  Bank,  24;  models  treasury 
department,  49. 

Morton,  Gov.  O.  P.,  aids  Lincoln,  381. 

Mount  Vernon,  navigation  commission  at,  32; 
home  of  Washington,  47,  71;  national  me 
morial,  287. 

"Mugwump  Campaign,"  463,  464. 

Muhlenberg,  Frederick  A.  C.,  first  Speaker  of 
House,  45. 

Municipalities,  problems,  445,  508. 

Murray,  William  Vans,  commissioner  to  France, 
79- 

Muscat,  treaty  with,  227. 

Nacogdoches  (Mex.),  strategic  position,  229. 

Napoleon,  neutral  trade,  67,  103,  104,  118; 
colonial  policy,  95-97  ;  decrees,  103,  104, 109, 
112;  and  English,  105;  American  policy, 
110-113,  175;  invades  Russia,  118;  abdica 
tion,  122 ;  power  wanes,  125, 126 ;  continental 
system  fails,  168;  wars  affect  America,  171, 
227. 

Napoleon  III,  American  policy,  389;  Mexican 
scheme,  423. 

Nashville  (Tenn.),  convention,  322,  328;  taken, 
392 ;  battle,  394. 

Nassau,  British  port,  259;  smuggling,  387. 

Nast,  Thomas,  cartoonist,  446. 

National  debt  (1783),  24;  (1789),  52;  under 
Federalists,  82 ;  Gallatin  reduces,  94,  95, 118 ; 
wiped  out,  95,  223,  224;  Dallas  and,  159; 
decreases,  193,  204;  increase,  241 ;  Civil  War, 
416,  417. 

National  Progressive  party,  531-532. 

National  Republicans,  convention  (1831),  217; 
candidates,  231,  246;  allies,  232. 

Nat  Turner's  rebellion,  effects,  293. 

Natural  gas,  source  of  wealth,  440. 


2XVU 


INDEX 


Naturalization,  conditions,  77,  94;  diplomatic 
problem,  426. 

Navigation  Acts,  British,  22,  23,  61;  discussed 
in  Constitutional  Convention,  36;  act  of 
1789,  62;  help  New  England,  132. 

Navy,  in  War  of  1812,  120-124;  increase,  160, 
254;  in  1861,  384;  growth  during  war,  384; 
reduction,  416;  expenses  of  new,  471 ;  world 
cruise,  524. 

Navy  Department,  organized,  76;  secretaries, 
203,  308,  380,  384,  464,  471,  490,  519. 

Nebraska,  organization  proposed,  337;  settled 
by  northerners,  340;  population,  439;  ad 
mitted  to  Union,  439;  economic  distress,  475 ; 
People's  party,  475 ;  Bryan  carries,  480. 

Negroes,  enlistment,  402 ;  postbellum  laws,  409 ; 
Freedmen's  Bureau,  410;  suffrage  problem, 
413,  414,  420,  427-429;  in  office,  426;  free 
labor  conditions,  434,  435 ;  move  North,  439 ; 
vote  suppressed,  448,  449,  470,  515  ;  southern 
whites  solid  against,  449;  growth  of  popula 
tion,  515;  education,  515,  516;  political 
factor,  516. 

Neutral  rights,  disputed,  65-69;  obligation  to 
defend,  75 ;  in  Civil  War,  386-388. 

Neutral  trade,  English  policy,  102-104, 109, 118 ; 
French,  104,  109,  118;  European  peace  ends, 
131. 

Neutrality,  policy  adopted,  62,  64;  French 
Revolution  endangers,  63 ;  maintained,  71, 72 ; 
restored  by  Adams,  80,  81,  84;  difficulties  of, 
113,  118,  169, 170,  229,  243 ;  European  peace 
affects,  126;  law  of  1817,  169;  of  1838,  243; 
of  Panama,  333;  Tehuantepec,  334;  Cuba, 
424,  488;  during  Civil  War,  424-426;  of 
interoceanic  canals,  485. 

Nevada,  mining  immigration,  379;  admitted  to 
Union,  439;  Chinese  question,  461,  463. 

New  England,  topography,  2,  3,  4;  character  of 
settlers,  3;  industries,  3,  5,  9,  23;  area  (1783), 
4;  population,  4;  emigration,  4,  5,  20,  21,  134, 
135,  146,  278,  284,  349;  self-government,  10; 
religious  sects,  31,  152;  objects  to  molasses 
duty,  52;  political  parties,  89,  108;  secession 
proposed,  98;  British  spy  visits,  116;  ports 
blockaded,  119;  British  harry,  123;  dis 
affection,  124,  125;  decline  of  trade,  132; 
revival  of  shipbuilding,  132;  manufactures 
increase,  133,  136,  138,  142,  379,440;  sheep 
raising,  135;  _  farms  deserted,  135,  275; 
favors  protection,  136,  181 ;  cotton  manu 
facture,  142,  159,  374;  cotton  market,  143; 
party  organization,  152;  conservatism,  152; 
divided  on  tariff,  160;  vote  on  Missouri  Com 
promise,  167;  electoral  vote,  175,  176,  187; 
Antimasons,  216;  intellectual  awakening,  284; 
moral  awakening,  284 ;  dogmatism,  284,  285 ; 
political  equality,  285;  prohibition  laws,  288, 
289;  opposes  Mexican  war,  314;  negro  suf 
frage,  414;  factory  conditions  change,  458, 
513;  French  Canadians,  511 ;  railroad  merger, 
521.  See  also  the  several  states. 

New  Hampshire,  frontier  population,  12; 
Supreme  Court  decision,  25 ;  abolishes  slavery, 
26 ;  claims  Vermont  territory,  29 ;  adopts  Con 
stitution,  41 ;  governor,  86 ;  sheep  raising,  134 ; 
electoral  vote,  218;  frontier  troubles,  248; 
Free-Soil  vote,  320. 


New  Harmony,  communist  settlement,  278. 

New  Haven  (Conn.),  protest  of  merchants, 
91. 

New  Jersey,  New  England  immigrants,  5 ; 
gradual  emancipation  in,  26;  paper-money 
party,  27;  adopts  Constitution,  41;  trade 
with,  41 ;  favors  protection,  136 ;  adopts  eman 
cipation,  164;  electoral  vote,  218,  232,  357; 
campaign  of  1860,  356;  Democrats  control, 
401 ;  growth  of  population,  501 ;  governor, 
532. 

New  Mexico,  American  claim,  311;  occupation, 
312;  applies  for  admission,  321,  322;  possible 
slave  state,  335,  348,  362;  in  Civil  War,  371; 
denied  admission,  471 ;  admitted,  502. 

New  Orleans  (La.),  trade  center,  21,  266,  267; 
Genet's  expedition  against,  64;  place  of  de 
posit,  70,  95;  plan  to  acquire,  79;  France 
acquires,  95-97 ;  sells,  97  ;  British  expedition 
against,  123, 125;  battle  of,  125;  importance, 
145;  slave  market,  259;  North  captures,  384; 
negro  riot,  412. 

New  Orleans,  river  steamer,  147. 

New  York,  New  England  immigrants,  5 ;  politi 
cal  conditions,  9,  10;  cedes  western  lands,  17 ; 
gradual  emancipation,  26;  paper-money 
party,  28;  tariff  laws,  32,  41;  adopts  Con 
stitution,  41 ;  electoral  vote,  46,  74,  175,  187, 
218,  306,  470;  Indians,  61 ;  governors,  86, 
100,  161,  187,  401,  446,  464,  493,  519;  or 
ganization,  89,  150,  189;  Republican  factions, 
89,  108,  117;  militia  disaffected,  124;  grants 
monopoly,  130;  favors  protection,  136; 
builds  Erie  Canal,  138;  emigration,  146,  349; 
alters  Constitution,  150;  emancipation,  164; 
supports  Crawford,  174;  Antimasons,  216; 
Loco-Focos,  236;  banking  system,  240;  Ger 
mans,  274;  Mormons,  279;  New  England 
influence,  284;  schools,  285,  287 ;  extradition 
trouble,  294 ;  rioting,  299 ;  Democratic  factions, 
308,  319,  320;  opposes  Mexican  war,  314; 
Whigs  strong,  320;  Lemmon  case,  357; 
campaign  of  1860,  356;  manufactures  grow, 
379;  negro  suffrage,  414;  salt  industry,  440; 
growth  of  population,  501 ;  commissions,  501 ; 
labor  conditions,  513. 

New  York  Central  Railroad,  rivals  waterways, 
266. 

New  York  city,  early  importance,  8;  cosmo 
politan,  9 ;  first  congress,  41 ;  financial  center, 
54,  394;  mayor,  89;  Washington  inaugu 
rated,  47;  blockaded,  103;  Federalist  con 
vention,  117;  port,  132,  456;  rivals,  138; 
bank  notes  discounted,  156;  collectors,  241, 
242,  462;  anti-Catholic  riots,  273;  publica 
tions,  280,  283;  Zouaves,  353;  draft,  402; 
southern  trade,  437 ;  Tweed  Ring,  445  ;  mu 
nicipal  problems,  445;  commercial  growth, 
501 ;  police  board,  519. 

New  York  Herald,  editor,  281 ;  Sun,  281 ;  Times, 
supports  Johnson,  412;  Tribune,  editor,  281, 
399  429. 

New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford  Railroad, 
monopoly,  521. 

New  Zealand,  government  methods,  507. 

Newburyport  (Mass.),  trade  declines,  132. 

Newfoundland,  fisheries,  5. 

Newport  (R.  1.),  trade  declines,  132. 


INDEX 


Newspapers,  development,  281;  influence,  281, 
282;  Washington,  281;  New  York,  281. 

Niagara,  held  by  Great  Britain,  22. 

Niagara  River,;fighting  along,  122,  124,  257. 

Nicaragua,  canal  proposed,  333,  485;  relations 
with  England,  333;  negotiations,  497- 

Niles,  Hezekiah,  editor,  160. 

Niles'  Register,  favors  protection,  160. 

Non-importation,  Jefferson  favors,  105. 

Non-intercourse,  succeeds  embargo,  109;  with 
England,  110-113;  France,  110-113;  act 
disobeyed,  no;  Macon  bill,  number  two, 
no;  western  policy,  114;  encourages  manu 
factures,  133. 

Non-intervention,  Calhoun's  doctrine,  316,  339, 
340,  346,  350. 

Norfolk!(Va.),  seized,  384. 

North,  resents-  slave  representation,  163,  297; 
southern  dominance,  165 ;  nationalistic  poli 
cies,  175;  rx>litics-^^irfa~shi"on£ble,  184; 
growth  of  democracy,  186;  population,  276, 
374,  439,  501,  502;  rapid  development,  276; 
sentiment  on  slavery,  294,  296,  298-299,  330; 
lawlessness,  299,'  330;  Texas  sentiment,  302, 
315;  Free-Soil  vote,  320;  divided  on  Kansas- 
Nebraska  bill,  337;  roused  by  attack  on 
Sumter,  342,  368;  sympathy  with  John 
Brown,  353;  military  preparations,  353; 
campaign  of  1860,  356,  357;  devotion  to 
Union,  368;  manufactures  grow,  379,  440; 
administrative  problems,  380,  381 ;  financial, 
381,  382_;  business  conditions,  383;  political 
tendencies,  383,  396,  430,  431;  angry  with 
England,  388,  424;  reaction  against  coercion, 
429;  labor,  437,  438;  migration  South,  515. 
See  also  the  several  states  and  sections. 

North  American  Review,  foilnded,  153. 

North  Anna  River,  fighting  along,  391. 

North  Carolina,  Highland  Scotch,  13 ;  cedes 
western  lands,  18,  20;  dissolution  threatened, 
28;  adopts  Constitution,  41,  42,  46,  50,  53; 
governor,  79;  character  of  settlers,  87;  elec 
toral  vote,  74, 108 ;  Quakers,  141,  291 ;  cotton 
manufacture,  142;  Democracy,  186;  secedes, 
368;  Union  element,  370,  374;  peace  party, 
377;  reconstruction,  408,  428;  disfranchise 
negroes,  414. 

North  Dakota,  explored,  99;  admitted  to 
Union,  471;  McKinley  carries,  480. 

Northern  Army,  378-379. 

Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  promoters,  443 ;  in 
merger,  521. 

Northern  Securities  Company,  formed,  521. 

Northwest,  Indians,  61 ;  population,  61 ;  open 
ing,  70 ;  trade  connections,  138;  southern 
immigration,  164;  opposes  Missouri  Com 
promise,  167;  land  question,  173;  agricul 
tural  conditions,  267,  268;  German  influence, 
289,  343;  Free-Soil  vote,  320;  political  in 
fluence,  355;  Confederacy  hopes  for,  364. 
See  also  the  several  states. 

Northwest  Territory,  organized,  20,  59;  diplo 
matic  problems,  22;  commercial,  22,  59; 
delegate  to  Congress,  59;  governor,  61 ; 
power  of  Congress  over,  166,  317. 

Norwegians,  immigrants,  511. 

Nueces  River,  as  boundary,  311,  312. 

Nullification,    proposed .  (1800),   83 ;     doctrine 


stated,  199,  200;  supporters,  202;  applied, 
205,  207,  218;  postponed,  206;  withdrawn, 
207;  repudiated  by  states,  207;  political 
effect,  208. 

Ogden  v.  Saunders,  cited,  130. 

Ohio,  character  of  settlers,  87,  284,  345  ;  fron 
tier  conditions,  115;  sheep  raising,  148;  ad 
mitted  to  Union,  164;  Indian  title  distin 
guished,  179;  builds  canals,  225,  264;  presi 
dential  vote,  232;  Mormons,  279;  Free-Soil 
vote,  320;  Democrats  win,  401 ;  Copperheads, 
402;  campaign  of  1868,  420;  natural  gas, 
440;  governors,  447,  479,  532. 

"Ohio  Company  of  Associates,"  organized,  20; 
settlements,  20,  21. 

"Ohio  Idea,"  418. 

Ohio  River,  route  via,  12,  21,  60,  138,  139,  266, 
267;  as  boundary,  18-20,  22,  26,  500;  In 
dians  along,  go;  settlers,  114;  branches,  264. 

Ohio  valley,  division,  266-267,  369;  transpor 
tation,  379. 

Oklahoma,  admitted  to  Union,  502. 

Olliwochica,  Indian  leader,  115. 

Olney,  Richard,  Secretary  of  State,  484 ;  Vene 
zuelan  negotiations,  484. 

Omnibus  Bill,  provisions,  470,  471. 

Ontario,  American  Loyalists  in,  121. 

Orders  in  Council,  adopted,  103;  retaliation 
for,  109;  recall  proposed,  112,  113;  recalled, 
117. 

Ordinance  of  1787,  provisions,  19,  20,  26,  59, 
166;  as  model,  98;  interpretation,  316,  317, 
339- 

Oregon,  joint  occupancy,  239;  development, 
277;  disputed  territory,  277;  Indian  missions, 
277,  278;  American  settlers,  278,  280;  po 
litical  issue,  305,  310;  partition,  310;  ad 
mitted  as  territory,  315;  free  state,  348; 
Republican,  448;  electoral  vote,  480;  early 
coast  trade,  486. 

Oregon  Short  Line,  in  merger,  521. 

Osborn  etal.  v.  Bank  of  United  States,  cited, 
130. 

Osceola,  Seminole  leader,  242. 

Owen,  Robert  Dale,  communist,  279. 

Pacific  Ocean,  as  United  States  boundary,  169, 
170;  trade,  221,  486,  487;  islands,  493,  497. 

Pacific  Railroads,  land  grants,  396. 

Paine,  Thomas,  demands  Constitutional  Con 
vention,  32. 

Palfrey,  J.  G.,  Massachusetts  Whig,  314. 

Palmer,  Gen.  J.  M.,  Gold  Democrat,  479. 

Palmerston,  Lord,  American  policy,  385. 

Palo  Alto  (Mex.),  battle,  312. 

Panama  Congress,  172,  179. 

Panama,  route  by  Isthmus,  321 ;  revolts  from 
Colombia,  497;  United  States  recognizes, 
497;  grants  canal  strip,  498;  canal  begun, 
523  ;  canal  construction,  528. 

Pan-American  conferences,  172,  179,  472,  484. 

Pan-American  Exposition,  at  Buffalo,  519. 

Panics  (1819),  158,  159,  179,  194,  212;  (1833), 
221;  (1837),  234,  235,  241,  271;  (1841),  239; 
(1857),  271,  345,  383;  (1861),  383;  (1873), 
443,448,450,458;  (1893),  476,  478;  (1907), 
522,  523,  525. 


XXIX 


INDEX 


Paper  money,  political  issue  before  1789,  27,  28, 
40,  42;  overissues,  212,  223,  224;  drives 
out  specie,  225,  234,  235;  not  receivable  for 
public  lands,  226;  Jackson  opposes,  226,  231 ; 
during  Civil  War,  382 ;  discounted,  451.  See 
also  Currency. 

Parcel  Post,  established,  528. 

Paris,  treaty  at,  79;  Americans  visit,  282; 
peace  commission,  490. 

Parish,  government  unit,  7. 

Parker,  Alton  J.,  presidential  candidate,  521, 
525;  defeat,  522. 

Parker,  Joel,  attacks  Lincoln,  401. 

Paterson,  William,  in  Constitutional  Conven 
tion,  34- 

Patronage.     See  Spoils  System. 

Patrons  of  Husbandry.    See  Granger  movement. 

Pawtucket  (R.  I.),  growth,  133. 

Payne,  Sereno,  frames  tariff  bill,  526. 

Payne-Aldrich  Tariff,  commission,  509;  bill, 
526,  527. 

Peace  Commission  (1898),  head,  490. 

Peace  Convention,  Virginia  calls,  362. 

Peel,  Sir  Robert,  American  policy,  256;  free 
trader,  309. 

Pendleton,  Gen.  G.  H.,  currency  plan,  418; 
presidential  candidate,  419. 

Pendleton  Bill,  provisions,  463. 

Pennington,  William,  Speaker,  352. 

Pennsylvania,  New  England  immigrants,  5; 
local  government,  10;  emigrants,  10,  n; 
boundary  dispute,  18;  grants  bank  charter, 
24;  gradual  emancipation  in,  26;  paper- 
money  party,  27 ;  dissolution  threatened,  28 ; 
adopts  Constitution,  41 ;  power  of  speaker 
in  Legislature,  45 ;  revolt  on  frontier,  57 ; 
resists  direct  tax,  82 ;  governors,  86, 381 ;  Re 
publican  factions,  89,  93 ;  party  organization, 
po,  150,  189;  electoral  vote,  117,  174,  534; 
iron  industry,  136,  181 ;  favors  protection, 
136,  181,  356,  464;  canal  commission,  138, 
139;  spoils  system,  150;  alters  constitution, 
150;  taxes  United  States  Bank,  158;  Anti- 
masons,  216;  political  alliances,  232;  Ger 
man  immigration,  274;  school  system,  285; 
railroads,  299;  Democrats,  305,  308,  309; 
opposes  Mexican  war,  314;  Whigs  carry,  320; 
pivotal  state,  343;  manufactures  grow,  379; 
Lee  invades,  390;  Democrats  win,  401; 
natural  gas,  440;  population,  501;  foreign 
labor,  511,  513. 

Pennsylvania  Canal,  cheap  route,  264. 

"Pennsylvania  Dutch."    See  Germans. 

Pennsylvania  Railroad,  rivals  waterways,  266 ; . 
forest  reserve,  503. 

Pensions,  expenditure  for,  471. 

"People's  Party,"  candidate,  456,  476;  in 
fluence,  459;  growth,  474-476;  platform, 
475 ;  fuses  with  Democrats,  479;  causes,  501. 

Perdido  River,  boundary,  no. 

Perry,  Commodore  Matthew,  treaty  with  Japan, 

Perry,    Commodore    Oliver    Hazard,    controls 

Lake  Erie,  122. 
Perryville  (Ky.),  battle,  392. 
Persia,  treaty,  339. 

Personal  Liberty  laws,  passed  in  North,  330. 
Peru,  gains  independence,  168;  treaty,  334. 


Petersburg  (Va.),  siege,  391. 

Petition,  right  of,  295,  296. 

Petroleum,  source  of  wealth,  440,  441 ;  super 
sedes  whale  oil,  486. 

Phi  Beta  Kappa,  secret  society,  216. 

Philadelphia  (Pa.),  financial  center,  8,  9,  21,  54; 
Constitutional  Convention,  32,  37;  Federal 
capital,  53,  65 ;  arrival  of  Genfit,  63 ;  trade 
rivals,  138,  139,  299;  bank  notes  discounted, 
156:  printing,  283;  anti-Catholic  riots,  273; 
abolition,  294;  political  conventions,  319, 
343 ;  growth,  445 ;  Centennial  Exposition,  450. 

Philippine  Islands,  ceded  to  United  States ;  490, 
491;  government,  491,  492;  political  issue, 
493  J  governor,  525. 

Phillips,  Wendell,  lyceum  lecturer,  287;  labor 
champion,  437. 

Pickering,  Judge  John,  impeached,  93. 

Pickering,  Timothy,  Secretary  of  State,  71,  80; 
discusses  secession,  98;  in  Congress,  156; 
cited,  123. 

Piedmont,  cotton  cultivation,  87,  140;  settlers, 
114,  271;  relations  with  tidewater,  141. 

Pierce,  Franklin,  President,  329;  cabinet,  331 ; 
Cuban  policy,  332;  Central  America,  333; 
removes  Governor  Reeder,  341;  Lincoln 
attacks,  351. 

Pierce,  John,  killed,  103. 

Pike,  Zebulpn,  explorer,  99. 

Pinchot,  Gifford,  in  forest  service,  524;  con 
troversy  with  Ballinger,  529;  dismissed,  531. 

Pinckney,  Charles,  in  Constitutional  Conven 
tion,  34. 

Pinckney,  Charles  C.,  mission  to  France,  75; 
colleagues,  76;  refuse  bribe,  77;  vice-presi 
dential  candidate,  81 ;  presidential  candi 
date,  100,  108;  electoral  vote,  100. 

Pinckney,  Thomas,  negotiates  Spanish  treaty, 

Pinkney,  William,  commissioner  to  England, 
103;  Minister,  116;  in  Congress,  156;  op 
poses  restriction  of  slavery,  166,  167,  317. 

Pioneers,  characteristics,  n,  12;  conditions  of 
settlement,  59;  relations  with  Spain,  64. 

Pipe  lines.     See  Transportation. 

Pitt,  William,  relations  with  Talleyrand,  76; 
Spanish  policy,  78. 

Pittsburg  Landing  (Miss.),  battle,  392. 

Pittsburgh  (Pa.),  captured  in  Whisky  Rebel 
lion,  57;  route  via,  60;  trade,  139. 

Plantation  system,  described.  5,  6;  extended, 
6,  7,  H3,  I4L  144-146,  164,  179,  186,  197, 
228,  267,  291;  government  .under,  7,  8;  in 
Virginia,  87,  267;  bond  of  union,  146;  in 
South  Carolina,  267;  aristocratic  tendency, 
151;  political  effects,  164,  165;  based  on 
slave  labor  433 ;  overthrown,  433-455. 

Planters,  character,  6,  7,  47, .87,  232;  embargo 
injures,  106;  increase  holdings,  141,  144.  267; 
economic  problems,  143-145,  148,  197,  198, 
203;  raise  hemp,  148;  political  powers,  151; 
aristocratic,  151;  oppose  tariff,  160;  polit 
ical  views,  1 86,  232;  continue  governing 
class,  433;  divide  lands,  434;  disappear  as 
class,  435,  516. 

Planters  Bank,  failure,  238,  239. 

Plata  River,  trade  route,  334. 

Platt,  0.  H.,  death,  528. 


XXX 


INDEX 


Platt,  Sen.  Thomas  C.,  quarrel  with  Garfield, 
463;  Roosevelt  opp9ses,  520. 

Platt  Amendment,  provisions,  491. 

Platte  River,  surveys  demanded,  335. 

Plattsburg  (N.  Y.),  battle  near,  123. 

Pobfedonostsev,  moral  leader,  292. 

Poe,  Edgar  A.,  influence,  153;  author,  283. 

Poles,  immigrants,  512. 

Political  parties,  formation,  40;  caucuses,  74, 
90,  162,  174,  466;  in  1793,  74J  in  1.797,  .75; 
conventions.  90,  189,  190,  216,  217;  inactive, 
128;  organization,  150,  151,  189,  190,  454, 
461,  466,  470;  spoils  system,  150;  distinct 
policies,  178;  national  committees,  189; 
first  national  platforms,  217;  new  combina 
tions,  339,  340,  397;  stability,  454;  funds, 
461,  507 ;  legal  control  of  primaries,  466,  507 ; 
improved  methods,  466;  convention  or 
ganization,  531. 

Polk,  James  K.f  presidential  candidate,  304; 
character,  305,  307 ;  policies,  305,  306 ;  writes 
"Kane  letter,"  305,  306;  election,  306; 
cabinet,  308;  Oregon  policy,  310,  315;  Mexi 
can,  3",  312;  party  ruler,  319,  331. 

Potty,  American  trade  vessel,  95,  102. 

Poor  relief,  southern  system,  7. 

Popular  sovereignty.    See  Squatter  sovereignty. 

Population  (1783),  2;  (1790),  163;  (1820), 
103,164;  (1870),  500;  (1910),  500,  501 ;  on 
frontier  (1810-1830),  146;  rapid  increase, 
275;  shifting,  275;  of  North  (1860),  374; 
of  South,  374;  foreign-born,  510,  511. 

Populists.    See  People's  party. 

Port  Hudson,  taken,  393. 

Port  Royal  (S.  C.),  taken,  384. 

Portland  (Me.),  trade,  135. 

Porto  Rico,  Gen.  Miles  occupies,  490;  govern 
ment,  491. 

Portsmouth  (N.  H.),  trade,  132,  135. 

Portugal,  loses  Brazil,  168. 

Post  Office,  administration  improved,  528. 

Postal  Savings  Bank,  established,  528. 

Potomac  River,  disputed,  32;  trade  route,  39, 
60;  navigation  closed  on  lower,  369;  Lee 
crosses,  390. 

Potomac  River  valley,  desires  Federal  capital,  53. 

Pottawatomie  massacre,  347. 

Preemption  laws.    See  Lands. 

Presbyterian  Church,  fosters  nationalism,  n, 
31;  mission,  278 ^divides,  298. 

President,  compromise  over  election  method, 
35;  powers,  38,  39,  48,  49;  how  chosen,  46, 
74,  100;  salary,  48;  appointments,  49,  50; 
election  by  House,  176. 

Presidential  electors,  how  chosen,  46,  150,  151. 

Price,  Gen.  Sterling,  at  Corinth,  392. 

Primaries,  regulation,  507;   in  Wisconsin,  517. 

Prince  Albert,  in  Trent  affair,  338. 

Princeton,  gunboat,  302. 

Princeton  University,  president,  532. 

Privateers,  French,  64, 104;  equipped  in  United 
States,  65,  69;  American,  121;  British,  121. 

Proctor,  Gen.  Redfieid  visits  Cuba,  488. 

Progressive  Republicans,  split  from  old  party, 
527;  growth,  528;  bolt  convention,  531; 
divide,  535. 

Prohibition,  Maine  law  passed,  288;  in  other 
states,  288,  289. 


Protection  in  first  tariff,  51 ;  New  England,  136, 
440;  Middle  States,  136;  South,  142,  144, 
197;  manufactures  demand,  158;  (1816), 
159;  (1824),  173;  (1828),  181;  constitution 
ality,  197, 198.  206,  207 ;  (1832),  204;  Repub 
lican  policy,  217,  268,  356,  357,38i,  430, 464, 
469,  472,  481;  (1842),  255;  (1846),  309; 
(Morrill),397;  Democrats  support,  468.  See 
Tariff. 

Providence  (R.  I.),  threatens  secession,  42; 
trade  center,  133,  135,  140. 

Provincialism,  increase  of,  131;  decreases,  506. 

Prussia,  treaty  with,  22;  in  Holy  Alliance,  170. 

Pujo,  A.  P.,  Member  of  Congress,  531. 

Pullman  Company,  employees  strike,  478. 

Pure  Food  Law,  enforcement,  524,  530. 

Puritans,  theory  of  government,  3. 

Quakers   in   Delaware   valley,    8,   9,;     oppose 

slavery,  25,   291;    leave  slave  states,   141; 

North  Carolina,  291. 
Quebec,  American  trade,  69. 
"Quids,"  Republican  faction,  88,  101,  108. 
Quincy,  Josiah,  opposes  embargo,  106 ;   British 

war,  107;  successor  in  Congress,  132;  cited, 

oo.J 
Quitman,  J.  A.,  southern  radical,  322;   Cuban 

filibusterer,  332. 

Railroads,  development,  265,  440;  government 
aid,  266,  335,  396,  438,  441,  443;  strategic 
importance,  266,  376,  392,  393 ;  rivalries,  299, 
335;  transcontinental,  335,  441,  443;  spec 
ulations,  345,  442;  southern,  436,  437;  rate 
question,  456,  458,  467;  public  service  cor 
porations,  457;  management,  457;  govern 
ment  regulation,  457,  467,  521,  525,  527 ;  con 
solidation,  460,  520, 521 ;  Pullman  strike,  478 ; 
centralize  trade,  500.  See  Transportation. 

Rambouillet  Decree,  issued,  112. 

Randall,  Gov.  A.  W.,  aids  Lincoln,  381. 

Randall,  Samuel  J.,  Speaker,  468.       . 

Randolph,  Edmund,  Attorney- General,  50; 
Secretary  of  State,  71;  resigns,  71. 

Randolph,  John,  state  rights  views,  83,  200; 
administration  leader,  88,  92,  93;  heads 
"Quids,"  101, 108 ;  opposes  Yazoo  claims,  101, 
102;  embargo,  105,  106;  British  war,  117; 
tariff  of  1816,158;  in  Congress,  156;  attacks 
Clay,  177;  cited,  92,  105,  167,  177,  181. 

Rapidan  River,  campaigns,  391. 

Rappists,  communal  settlements,  278. 

Raymond,  Henry  J.,  editor,  412. 

Reagan,  J.  H.,  frames  Interstate  Commerce  Act, 
467. 

Recall,  of  delegates,  13;  of  senators,  93;  states 
adopt,  507 ;  judicial  proposed,  508,  530. 

Reciprocity,  commercial,  226,  227;  treaties, 
472;  limited,  482. 

Reconstruction,  in  Virginia,  403;  Tennessee, 
404;  Louisiana,  404;  Arkansas,  404;  Lin 
coln's  plan,  403,  404;  Johnson's,  408,  409; 
joint  committee  reports,  411,  412; 
"Through,"  413,  Tenure  of  Office  bill,  414, 
415;  negro  suffrage,  420;  Supreme  Court 
decisions,  421,  422;  agricultural  changes 
during,  433,  435;  manufactures,  436. 

Reed,  Thomas  B.,  Speaker,  45,  470,  481.  527. 


xxxi 


INDEX 


Reeder,  Gov.  A.  H.,  protests  Kansas  election 
frauds,  341 ;  removed,  341. 

Referendum,  states  adopt,  507. 

Reforms,  movements,  287,  289;  civil  service, 
446,  447,  465;  tariff,  469;  in  government, 
5.07- 

Reign  of  Terror,  effects  in  America,  63. 

Relay  House,  troops  at,  369. 

"Relief"  party,  in  Kentucky,  211. 

Representation,  compromise  in  Constitution, 
35,  36;  North  and  South  (1820),  164;  (1840), 
296;  (1866),  411. 

Republican  party  (Jeffersonian),  policy 'under 
Washington,  32,  57,  68,  70;  leaders,  77,  156; 
later  policies,  78,  82,  89,  91,  101,  no,  161 ; 
Virginia  and  Kentucky  Resolutions,  82,  83; 
factions,  88,  89,  101,  106,  108,  117,  159; 
organization,  89,  90 ;  state  victories,  91 ; 
repeal  Federalist  laws,  92,  93,  109;  main 
tain  implied  powers,  98;  adopt  Federalist 
policies,  128,  161;  favor  national  roads,  135. 

Republican  party,  adoption  of  name,  338; 
opposes  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  338;  elects 
Speaker,  340;  platforms,  343,  356,  418,  419; 
nominates  Fr6mont,  343 ;  opposes  Lecomp- 
ton  constitution,  348;  in  election  of  1858,  351, 
352 ;  rejects  Crittenden  amendment,  361 ; 
extends  national  powers,  383;  indorses 
Union  ticket,  397;  growth  of  abolition  ele 
ment,  398,  400;  controls  Congress,  412; 
indorses  negro  suffrage,  414;  nominates 
Grant,  419;  divides  on  coercion,  429;  leaders, 
429;  renominates  Grant,  430;  party  co 
hesion,  430,  431 ;  nominates  Hayes,  447 ; 
factions,  450,  463,  527,  528;  nominates 
Garfield,  461;  Elaine,  463;  defeat,  464; 
elects  Harrison  and  controls  Congress,  470; 
reduction  of  surplus,  471;  tariff  policy,  469; 
passes  Sherman  Act,  473;  defeat  in  1892, 
476;  splits  on  silver,  479;  nominates  Mc- 
Kinley,  480;  campaign,  480;  success,  481; 
passes  Dingley  tariff,  481 ;  reelects  Mc- 
Kinley,  493;  convention  of  1900,  520;  elects 
Roosevelt,  521,  522;  divides,  531. 

Repudiation,  of  state  debts,  238,  255,  383. 

Resaca  de  la  Palma,  battle,  312. 

Revenue,  sources,  51,  52,  95,  119,  158,  159,  174, 
195,  196,  224,  240,  255,  416,  417;  surplus, 
193,  195,  224,  239,  468,  471,  472;  deficit, 
237,  241,  253,  255,  377,  378;  during  Civil 
War,  382,  383,  416,  417. 

Revolution,  causes,  13,  17;  bounties  to  soldiers, 
18;  Loyalists,  22;  economic  effects,  25,  27, 
61 ;  tests  Washington,  46,  47 ;  state  war 
debts,  53 ;  weakens  Indians,  61 ;  French 
aid,  63,  495;  frontier  leader,  64;  affects 
Europe,  118;  effects,  171;  Germans,  273. 

Revolution,  principles  revived,  86,  149;  em 
phasized  humanitarianism,  290. 

Rhode  Island,  population,  13,  501 ;  gradual 
emancipation,  26 ;  paper-money  party,  28,42; 
disorders  in,  32;  low  tariff,  32;  adopts  Con 
stitution,  41,  42,  53;  delays  adoption,  46,  50; 
Republicans  gain,  91 ;  popular  discontent,  150; 
state  bank  question,  211;  presidential  vote, 
232;  prohibition,  289;  rioting,  299. 

Rice,  staple  southern  product,  6;  and  cotton, 
140. 


Richardson,  William  A.,  candidate  for  Speaker 
34°- 

Richelieu  River,  route  via,  69. 

Richmond  (Va.),  trade,  139;  literary  center, 
283;  Democratic  convention,  355;  manu 
factures  war  supplies,  376;  railroad  com 
munications,  389,  391,  393;  threatened,  390; 
evacuated,  391. 

Richmond  Enquirer,  editor,  308. 

Right  of  search  (1793),  67;  (1806),  103;  in  Civil 
War,  388. 

Rio  Grande,  as  boundary,  228,  311,  312. 

Riots,  anti-Catholic,  273;  antislavery,  294; 
religious,  299;  "Dorr  War,"  299;  antirent, 
299;  railroad,  299;  fugitive  slave,  330;  draft, 
402;  negro,  412. 

Ripon  (Wis.),  name  "  Republican"  adopted,  338. 

Ritchie,  Thomas,  editor,  308. 

Rives,  J.  C.,  founds  Globe,  203. 

Roads,  in  South,  7 ;  toll  roads,  60,  264;  national, 
101,  135,  173;  Cumberland,  101,  109,  146, 
160,  173,  193;  turnpikes,  135,  173;  Mays- 
ville,  192. 

Roanoke  Island,  seized,  384. 

Rochambeau,  Gen.,  statue,  495. 

Rockefeller,  John  D.,  financier,  460. 

"Rock  of  Chickamauga,"  nickname,  394. 

Rocky  Mountains,  explored,  99;  as  boundary, 
277. 

Roman  Catholics,  in  Maryland,  13 ;  foster 
nationalism,  31 ;  growth  in  numbers,  272, 
274;  prejudice  against,  273;  missions  in 
Oregon,  278;  oppose  public  schools,  287; 
political  opposition  to,  327. 

Rome,  Americans  visit,  282. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  opposes  Elaine,  463 ;  at 
Santiago,  489 ;  governor,  493 ;  Vice  President, 
493;  canal  policy,  497,  523;  daughter,  495; 
political  career,  519,  520;  presidential  nomi 
nation,  521 ;  election,  522 ;  corporation  policy, 
522;  land,  524;  foreign,  494,  498,  523; 
Japanese,  512;  Nobel  Peace  prize,  523; 
names  successor,  525 ;  relations  with  La 
Follette,  527,  532;  Progressive  candidate, 

Roosevelt,  Miss  Alice,  christens  yacht,  495. 

Root,  Elihu,  Secretary  of  State,  497,  525. 

Rosecrans,  Gen.  W.  S.,  at  Chattanooga,  393. 

Rough  Riders,  at  Santiago,  489;  Colonel,  519. 

Roumania,  immigration  from,  496. 

"Rule  of  1756,"  revived,  66;  protested,  389. 

Rum,  trade  in,  23;  New  England,  159. 

Russell,  Jonathan,  peace  commissioner,  126. 

Russell,  Lord,  in  Trent  affair,  388. 

Russia,  trade  with,  110;  British  ally,  118;  offers 
mediation,  125;  in  Holy  Alliance,  170;  en 
croachments  in  Northwest,  170;  boundary, 
171 ;  friendly  to  North,  385,  424 ;  sells  Alaska, 
423 ;  assents  to  open  door  policy,  498 ;  emigra 
tion,  512;  peace  with  Japan,  523. 

Russo-Japanese  War,  attitude  of  United  States, 
498. 

Ryan,  Judge  E.  G.,  rate  decision  cited,  456. 

Sabine  River,  as  boundary,  169,  228,  229. 
Sacs,  habitat,  191.  <• 

St.  Clair,  Arthur,  governor  of  Northwest  Ter 
ritory,  61. 


xxxii 


INDEX 


St.    Lawrence    River,    English    control,    22; 

opened  to  Americans,  69,  425. 
St.  Louis,  commercial  growth,  335,  379;   Union 

City,  371;    manufactures,  440. 
Salem   (Mass.),  trade  declines,  132;    political 

leaders,  254. 

Salisbury,  Lord,  cited,  495. 
Salt,  source  of  wealth,  440;     trust  controls, 

Saluda  Gap,  trade  route,  142. 

Samoan  Islands,  independence,  486,  487,  493. 

Sampson,  Admiral  W.  T.,  at  Santiago,  489- 

San  Francisco,  importance  of  port,  280;  growth, 
445;  earthquake,  522. 

San  Ildefonso,  treaty  of,  95. 

San  Jacinto,  battle,  229. 

San  Jacinto,  captain,  388. 

San  Martin,  Gen.  Jose  de,  frees  Chile,  168. 

Santa  Anna,  A.  L.  de,  Mexican  president,  229; 
in  Mexican  war,  312,  313. 

Sante  Fe,  Americans  occupy,  312. 

Sante  Fe  Railroad,  in  merger,  521. 

Santiago  (Cuba),  battle,  489;   taken,  490. 

Santo  Domingo,  revolts,  97;  republic,  179;  an 
nexation  proposed,  424,  425;  United  States 
assists,  496. 

Savage's  Station  (Va.),  battle,  390. 

Savannah  (Ga.),  trade,  139;  captured,  394. 

"Scalawags,"  in  South,  426. 

Schley,  Admiral  W.  S.,  at  Santiago,  489. 

Schofield,  Gen.  J.  M.,  Secretary  of  War,  416. 

Schools,  fund  from  land  sales,  225. 

Schurz,  Carl,  opposes  coercion,  429;  cabinet 
member,  449;  cited,  356. 

Schuyler,  Gen.  Philip,  daughter  marries,  55. 

Scioto  River,  as  boundary,  18. 

Scotch,  immigrants,  5,  n,  13. 

Scotch-Irish,  in  Susquehanna  valley,  9;  po 
litical  inexperience,  9 ;  on  frontier,  1 1 ;  South 
Carolina,  113. 

Scott,  Dred,  case  of,  345,  346;  political  issue, 
350,  351,  355- 

Scott,  John,  member  of  Congress,  177. 

Scott,  Sir  William,  admiralty  decision  cited,  94, 
95,  102. 

Scott,  Gen.  Winfield,  ordered  to  Charleston, 
205;  on  Canadian  border,  243,  259;  presiden 
tial  candidate,  245,  328;  electoral  vote,  329; 
advises  Buchanan,  361 ;  favors  peaceable 
separation,  367. 

Secession,  Republicans  discuss,  83 ;  Federalists, 
106;  South  Carolina  proposes,  198,  205;  in 
campaign  of  1860,  357;  Ordinance  of,  360; 
Cotton  States  consider,  363;  accomplished, 
368;  Supreme  Court  decisions,  422. 

Sectionalism,  2,  n,  26,  29,  33;  in  Congress,  23, 
32,  51,  52;  Constitutional  Convention,  36; 
Washington  warns  against,  72  ;  in  Jeffersonian 
party,  88,  89;  increases,  128;  in  tariff  ques 
tion,  136,  139,  142-146,  148,  159,  181 ;  trade 
effects,  138,  139;  divides  North  from  South, 
166,  298,  302,  305,  318,  337 ;  Webster  attacks, 
201 ;  affects  western  development,  267,  268 ; 
in  election  of  1848,  319;  (1856),  343;  (1860), 
357,  358;  (1868),  419;  (1896),  480;  results 
in  secession,  360,  362. 

Sedgwick,  Theodore,  Speaker  of  House,  cited, 
80. 


Sedition  Act,  Federalist  measure,  78;  prosecu 
tions,  82;  expiration,  94. 

Segasta,  Senor  P.  M.,  Cuban  policy,  488. 

Selectmen,  duties,  4. 

Self-government,  on  frontier,  152. 

Seminoles,  in  Florida,  192 ;   war,  242. 

Senate,  representation  in,  35;  check  on  Presi 
dent,  38,  39;  how  chosen,  39;  claims  su 
periority  over  House,  46;  relations  with 
executive,  48 ;  debates  reported,  92 ;  im 
peachments,  93 ;  southern  bulwark,  164,  296. 

Seven  Days'  Battle,  390. 

Sevier,  John,  political  leader,  116. 

Seward,  William  H.,  Antimasonic  leader,  216; 
governor,  287,  294;  Senator,  321,  322;  op 
poses  Compromise  of  1850,  324;  squatter 
sovereignty,  336 ;  presidential  candidate,  355 ; 
Secretary  of  State,  380 ;  in  Trent  affair,  388 ; 
favors  early  emancipation,  398 ;  colonization 
schemes,  400;  conservatism,  404;  expansion, 
423,424;  English  policy,  425 ;  cited,  337. 

Seymour,  Horatio,  Governor,  401 ;  heads  faction, 
401,  402  ;  presidential  candidate,  419. 

Shafter,  Gen.  W.  R.,  at  Santiago,  489. 

Shakers,  communistic  settlements,  278. 

Shannon,  defeats  Chesapeake,  120. 

Shays,  Capt.  Daniel,  leads  rebellion,  28 ;  causes 
of  revolt,  451. 

Sheep  raising,  increases,  134;  in  New  England, 
134,136;  New  York,  136;  Ohio,  148;  West, 
473,  SOL 

Shenandoah,  Confederate  cruiser,  386. 

Shenandoah  valley,  campaigns,  390,  391. 

Sheridan,  Gen.  Philip,  in  Virginia,  391. 

Sherman,  John,  candidate  for  Speaker,  352; 
currency  compromise,  451;  Secretary  of 
Treasury,  452;  Anti-Trust  law,  473;  Silver 
Purchase,  473,  474;  Secretary  of  State,  490. 

Sherman  Anti-Trust  law,  operation,  510,  521, 
522,  530. 

Sherman,  Gen.  William  T.,  march  to  sea,  394. 

Sherman,  Roger,  in  Constitutional  Convention, 

Shiloh3(Miss.),  battle,  392. 

"Shin  plasters,"  currency,  383. 

Shipbuilding,  in  New  England,  5;  growth  of 
industry,  62,  66;  after  war,  441. 

Ship  subsidies,  270,  271,  273. 

Shipping  Board,  554. 

Siam,  government,  43;  treaty,  227,  334. 

Sicilies,  treaty,  334. 

Silver,  free  coinage,  demanded,  455,  474,  475, 
479,481;  Bland  Act,  455,  474;  party,  456; 
Sherman's  Purchase  Act,  473,  474;  repealed, 
477;  market  value  declines,  477 ;  Democrats 
split  on,  477,  479;  Republicans,  479;  gold 
production  affects,  481. 

Sitting  Bull,  defeats  Custer,  444.  _ 

Slater,  Samuel,  imports  English  inventions, 
133- 

"Slaughter  House"  cases,  cited,  423. 

Slave  trade,  5 ;  compromise  in  Constitution,  36 ; 
abolition  of  foreign,  140,  163,  164,  290; 
action  of  European  nations,  258,  290;  case 
of  Creole,  259,  260;  domestic,  295. 

Slavery,  extension  to  back  country,  6,  7; 
abolished  in  North,  26;  compromise  in  Con 
stitution,  35;  affects  cotton  raising,  140, 


INDEX 


141,  145,  433;  unites  South,  145,  163;  dis 
satisfaction  with,  163;  effect  on  representa 
tion,  163;  moral  issue,  164,  292;  economic 
issue,  164,  165;  political,  166,  296,  297,  304, 
306;  restriction  debated,  165,  166;  effects  of 
Missouri  Compromise,  166,  167;  southern 
sentiment,  179,  ago;  in  Texas  question.  242, 
243,303,314;  Germans  oppose,  275;  abolished 
by  England,  200;  status  in  territories,  314- 
323,  336;  Wilmot  Proviso,  315,  316 ;  excluded 
from  Oregon,  315;  struggle  in  Kansas,  340, 
341;  Dred  Scott  decision,  345;  Lincoln- 
Douglas  debates,  350,  351 ;  national  aspects, 
351 ;  in  campaign  of  1860,  356,  358;  Cntten- 
den  compromise,  361,  362;  abolished,  399- 
403. 

Slaves,  how  represented,  35;  price,  140;  num 
ber  (1860),  276;  escape  assisted,  293;  insur 
rection,  293;  character,  375;  importation 
prohibited,  512. 

Slidell,  John,  Minister  to  Mexico,  311,  312; 
Confederate  envoy,  388. 

Smith,  C.  B.,  Secretary  of  Interior,  380. 

Smith,  Joseph,  Mormon  leader,  278,  279. 

Smith,  Gen.  Kirby,  invades  Tennessee,  392. 

Smith,  Robert,  Secretary  of  State,  109. 

Social  legislation,  tendency,  510,  524,  525. 

Socialist  movement  in  Europe,  504;  America, 
505- 

"Softs,"  Democratic  faction,  319. 

"  Sons  of  Liberty."    See  Copperheads. 

Soule",  Pierre,  Minister  to  Spain,  332. 

South,  relations  with  West,  138,  139,  201 ; 
cotton  growing,  140,  141,  144;  economic 
dependence,  141 ;  favors  protection,  142 ; 
monopoly,  143;  opposes  protection,  160; 
emigration,  144,  164,  276;  political  unity, 
145,  163,  296,  337,  344,  449,  45o;  repre 
sentation  in  legislatures,  151;  needs  new 
states,  165,  277,  296,  302,  348;  supports 
Missouri  Compromise,  167;  opposes  spoils 
system,  189;  nullification  attitude  (1832), 
205;  foreign  immigration,  275,  433,  511, 
514;  growth,  275,  276,  374,  502;  intellectual 
awakening,  283,  284;  schools,  287,  428;  de 
pendence  on  slavery,  290;  antislayery  senti 
ment,  290,  291;  fears  insurrections,  293; 
proslavery  arguments,  294,  298;  lawlessness, 
299;  cotton  states  united,  297,  309;  supports 
Compromise  of  1850,  328;  solid  for  Kansas- 
Nebraska  bill,  337;  party  changes,  338; 
sustains  Brooks,  342;  resists  panic  of  1857, 
345;  and  Buchanan,  3.44:  361 ;  Brown's  raid, 
353;  strengthens  militia,  353  j  campaign 
of  1860,  357;  secession  sentiment,  368; 
reconstruction,  409,  412-415,  420,  426,  428; 
governmental  corruption,  427;  agricultural 
readjustment,  433-43S ;  economic  conditions, 
435-437;  manufactures  increase,  436 ;  trans 
portation,  436,  437;  suppresses  negro  vote, 
448,  449,  470,  531;  People's  party,  475; 
negro  problems,  514-516;  northern  immigra 
tion,  515;  political  situation,  516.  See  also 
Confederacy,  Plantation  System,  and  the 
several  states. 

South  America,  trade  with,  334,  335. 

South  Carolina,  cedes  western  lands,  18,  20; 
adopts  Constitution,  41;  presidential  elec 


tors,  46,  150,  186,  218,  233,  305;  growth  oi 
state  unity,  113,  197,  363;  nationalities,  113; 
cotton  industry,  140,  186;  slavery  senti 
ment,  141,  294;  trade  with  West,  142;  op 
poses  tariff,  143,  181,  197;  character  of 
democracy,  186;  proposes  secession,  198, 
205;  nullification,  205-208,  361;  seizes 
negro  sailors,  293;  proposes  southern  con 
vention,  322;  secession,  360;  political  cor 
ruption,  427;  reconstruction,  448,  449; 
double  election  returns,  448;  political  situa 
tion,  516. 

South  Carolina  Exposition,  author,  200. 

South  Dakota,  admitted  to  Union,  47 1 ;  Bryan 
carries,  480. 

Southern  Army,  374-375. 

Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  in  merger,  521. 

Southwest,  population  (1790-1800),  61;  In 
dians,  61. 

Sovereignty(  under  Confederation,  29;  under 
Constitution,  37-38;  Marshall  on,  130; 
Webster  and  Hayne  on,  205 ;  Jackson  on, 
205,  208;  national  established,  430. 

Spain,  trade  with,  $,  23,  62 ;  Mississippi  policy, 
2,  23;  influence  in  Kentucky,  22;  trade  with 
Indians,  60;  relations  with  England,  62,  119, 
170,  172;  France,  64,  78,  79,  95,  in;  colo 
nies  in  Louisiana,  64,  95;  Florida,  64,  in, 
169,  277,  486;  favorable  treaty  with,  70,  90; 
loses  American  colonies,  168,  170;  repub 
lics  revolt,  170;  Oregon,  277;  slavery  in 
colonies,  200;  Cuban  question,  331,  332,  487 ; 
war  methods,  488;  American  minister,  488; 
war  with,  489;  treaty,  490. 

Spaniards,  Pike  encounters,  99. 

Spanish  America,  relations  with  United  States, 
172;  British  trade,  483;  European  debts, 
496. 

Spanish-American  Revolution,  causes,  168; 
leaders,  168;  success,  168,  170. 

Spanish  War,  causes,  487-489;  battles,  489, 
490;  results,  490,  491-493. 

Speaker  of  House,  growth  of  power,  45,  470, 
527  j  election  deadlocked,  340,  350. 

"Specie  Circular,"  Jackson  issues,  226,  235, 
477;  Van  Buren  supports,  236. 

Specie  payments,  resumed  (1817),  158;  sus 
pended  (1861),  383;  resumed  (1879),  451, 

Speculation,  in  lands,  18,  223-225,  441;  rail 
road,  442. 

Spoils  system,  beginnings,  9°r92 ',  development, 
150-152,  163,  187,  188;  established,  189, 
190,  241,  262;  South  opposes,  189;  Whigs, 
250;  under  Lincoln,  380.  See  Civil  service. 

Spooner,  Sen.  John  C.,  resigns,  528. 

Springfield  (111.),  speech  of  Lincoln,  351,  366. 

Squatter  sovereignty,  doctrine  of  Lewis  Cass, 
316-318;  Douglas  advocates,  336,  ,339,  35°, 
357 ;  supporters,  340;  practical  workings,  340. 

"Stalwarts,"  Republican  faction,  450. 

Standard  Oil  Company,  formed,  460 ;  dis 
solved,  530. 

Stanton,  Edwin  M.,  Attorney-General,  365; 
Secretary  of  War,  381, 412 ;  removed,  415,  416. 

S(ar  Spangled  Banner,  author,  123. 

State  banks,  bad  management,  148,  223; 
numbers  increase,  148;  note*  discounted, 


XXXIV 


INDEX 


i$6;   oppose  National  Bank,  158,  211;   dis 
tension   of  credit,    235;    independent,    237 
currency  taxed,  382,  417;    discredited,  383 
paper  currency,  417. 

State  Department,  secretaries,  50,  56,  71, 80,  88 
105, 109, 113, 117, 162, 172, 187,  203,  205,  221, 
249,  259,  302,  307,  327,  331,  333,  344,  365, 
380,  423,  424,  462,  464,  472,  483,  485,  487, 
490,  494,  497,  525,  536,  543. 

State  rights,  doctrine  stated,  82,  166;  West 
favors,  152,  166;  supporters,  166,  167,  297; 
Georgia  maintains,  180;  differing  theories, 
208 ;  overthrown,  430. 

State  sovereignty,  versus  territorial,  317. 

Steamboats,  on  Mississippi,  147. 

Steam  navigation,  monopoly  denied,  130;  on 
Mississippi,  147;  development,  269-271. 

Stephens,  Alexander  H.,  favors  Compromise  of 
1850, 328 ;  leaves  Whigs,  338 ;  view  of  squat 
ter  sovereignty,  339 ;  secession,  363 ;  Confed 
erate  Vice  President,  365 ;  cited,  393. 

Stevens,  Thaddeus,  Antimasonic  leader,  216, 
286 ;  educational,  286 ;  reconstruction  views, 
404,  413 ;  death,  420. 

Story,  Joseph,  opposes  embargo,  106;  cited, 
185. 

Story,  W.  W.,  sculptor,  282. 

"Strict  construction,"  82;  Republicans  divide 
on,  101;  West  opposes,  152;  Calhoun  and, 
199;  Tyler  supports,  253. 

Suez  Canal,  promoter,  462. 

Sugar,  West  Indian  trade,  65 ;  southern  staple, 
145;  tariff,  159,  472,  476,  482;  vimported, 
269 ;  trust  controls,  460. 

Sumner^Sen.  Charles,  336;  opposes  squatter 
sovereignty,  336;  oratory,  341,  342;  offends 
Sen.  Butler,  342;  attacked  by  Brooks,  342; 
in  Trent  affair,  388;  favors  early  emancipa 
tion,  398;  Alaska  Purchase,  423 ;  reconstruc 
tion  views,  404,  413 ;  expansion,  424 ;  English 
policy,  425;  civil  service  reformer,  446; 
cited,  341. 

Sumter,  Fort,  fired  on,  367;  effect  in  North, 
368. 

Supreme  Court,  antecedents,  25;  how  chosen, 
39;  organization,  50;  Justices,  50,  68,  93, 
400,  421 ;  appeals  to,  351 ;  decisions  cited,  51, 
102,  129-131,  158,  191,  237,  238,  345,  387, 
388,  421-423,  456,  478,  492,  521,  529,  53o; 
authority,  200,  201,  206,  213,  354,  421. 

Susquehanna  River,  trade  route,  139;  Lee 
reaches,  390. 

Susquehanna  River  valley,  character  of  popula 
tion,  8,  9;  desires  Federal  capital,  53. 

Swartwout,  Samuel,  collector  of  port,  241 ;  suc 
cessor,  241 ;  cited,  188. 

Sweden,  treaty,  22;  emigrants,  511. 

Sweeney,  Peter  B.,  Tammany  boss,  445. 

Taft,  William  H.,  governor  of  Philippines,  491 ; 
Secretary  of  War,  525 ;  President,  525 ;  cab 
inet,  525;  tariff  policy,  526,  529;  opponents, 
527,  529.  530;  nominee,  531. 

Talleyrand,  C.  M.  de,  methods,  76;  American 
policy,  79,  95;  loses  influence,  97. 

Tallmadge,  James,  member  of  Congress,  165. 

Tammany  Hall,  founded,  89;  connection  with 
financiers,  442 ;  controls  New  York  city,  445. 


Taney,  Roger  B.,  Attorney-General,  203,221; 
Secretary  of  Treasury,  221;  Chief  Justice, 
238;  Dred  Scott  decision,  345,  346;  Lincoln 
attacks,  351;  death,  421;  successor,  421. 
Tanning,  growth  of  industry,  440. 
Tariff,  Rhode  Island  law,  32 ;  New  York,  41 ;  of 
1789,  5i,  52,  62;  Jefferson's  policy,  101,  133; 
revenue  small,  119;  New  England  demands 
protective,  136;  political  issue,  139,  197,  202, 
522,  533;  on  cotton,  143;  southern  attitude, 
144,  197;  Louisiana,  145;  sugar,  145;  fron 
tier  attitude,  148;  "American  system,"  148, 
149;  sectional  bargains,  .148,  159,  181,  345; 
(I8z6),  158,  159;  (1824),  173,  198;  (i82g), 
181,  198,  204;  constitutionality,  197,  198; 
(1832),  204,  217,  218;  nullified.  205 ;  (1833), 
206,  207,  210,  255;  Whig  policy,  255,  256, 
260;  (1842),  306;  (1846),  309;  (1857),  345; 
war,  381,  396,  416,  417,  428,  440;  Morrill, 
387,  3975  Schedule  K,  41 7 ;  discussion,  454, 
464,  467-469;  revision  of  1883,  468;  for 
revenue,  proposed,  468 ;  Mills  Bill,  468,  469 ; 
Republican  policy,  469;  McKinley,  471,  472, 
481;  Wilson,  477,  478;  Dingley,  481,  482; 
Porto  Rican,  491 ;  Philippine,  491 ;  Payne- 
Aldrich,  508,  526,  527;  Taft  vetoes,  529; 
Underwood,  537.  See  Protection. 

Tariff  Commission  (1882),  reduces  duties,  468; 
president  of,  cited,  468;  functions,  508; 
established  (1910),  526. 

Taxes,  customs  duties  under  Confederation,  13, 
32;  heavier  after  Revolution,  26,  28;  excise, 
5?,  56,  57,  93,  119,  159,  416;  on  ships,  62; 
direct,  76,  82,  159,  382,  471 ;  increase,  94,  95; 
war,  119,  132,  158,  381,  382;  income,  382, 
416,  478;  internal  revenue,  382,  396,  416, 
417. 

Taylor,  John,  state  rights,  83 ;  author,  88;  de 
fends  state  courts,  130. 

Taylor,  Gen.  Zachary,  occupies  Texas,  312 ;  vic 
tories,  312,  313;  presidential  candidate,  318; 
election,  319 ;  territorial  policy,  321,322 ;  Cen 
tral  America,  333;  death,  325;  successor, 
325;  cited,  321. 

Tecumseh,  organizes  Indians,  115;  defeat,  115, 
122;  death,  122;  slayer,  230. 

Tehuantepec,  Isthmus  of,  neutrality  guaranteed, 

Teller,  Sen.  H.  M.,  free  silver  advocate,  479. 

Temperance  movement,  development,  287,  288; 
results,  289. 

Temple,  in  London,  law  students,  33. 

Tennessee,  influence  of  Spain  in,  22;  admitted 
to  Union,  59,  164;  Indian  lands  bought,  99; 
frontier  conditions,  115 ;  political  leaders,  116; 
Indians  defeated,  122;  in  War  of  1812,  125; 
cotton  cultivation,  144,  146;  immigration, 
146;  presidential  vote,  232,  306;  transporta 
tion,  266;  secedes,  368;  Union  element,  370, 
37i,  374,'  invaded,  392-394;  military  gov 
ernor,  403 ;  reconstruction,  404, 408, 428;  read 
mitted,  412;  disfranchises  negro,  414. 

Tennessee  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  523. 

Tennessee  River,  route  via,  12;  settlers,  114-, 
cotton  culture,  267;  Grant's  campaign,  391, 
392. 

'Tenure  of  Office"  act,  provisions,  414,  416; 
modified,  421;  repealed,  466. 


XXXV 


INDEX 


Territories,  government,  98 ;  power  of  Congress 
over,  316,  321,  336,  339,  345,  350,  354,  399, 
492,  493. 

Texas,  claims  of  United  States,  169;  boundary 
dispute,  228,  311 ;  American  settlers,  228,  229, 
276;  independence,  229,  276,  311;  neutrality 
violations,  229;  political  issue,  229,  262,  302- 
306,  319;  government  recognized,  230,  242, 
277;  annexation  discussed,  230,  242,  243,  277, 
303;  strategic  importance,  277;  British  re 
lations,  277,  303;  population,  277,  501;  de 
sires  California,  279;  Congress  annexes,  307 ; 
Mexico  claims,  310,311;  Taylor  occupies,  312; 
dispute  with  government,  322,  323;  secedes, 
364;  reconstruction  late,  420;  admitted  to 
Union,  493;  foreign  immigration,  511. 

Texas  v.  White,  cited,  422. 

Thames  River  (Can.),  battle,  122,  231. 

Thomas,  Gen.  George,  defeats  Hood,  394. 

"Thorough,"  reconstruction  plan,  413. 

Ticknor,  George,  cited,  239,  367. 

Tilden,  Samuel  J.,  reformer,  444;  fights  Tweed 
Ring,  446 ;  presidential  candidate,  447 ;  elec 
tion  contested,  448 ;  defeat,  449. 

Tillman,  Sen.  Benjamin,  politician,  516. 

Tippecanoe,  battle,  115,  231. 

Tobacco,  southern  staple,  6,  140,  141 ;  exhausts 
land,  291;  trust  controls,  460;  dissolved, 
53°- 

Toledo  (0.),  site  of  Indian  battle,  61. 

Tompkins,  Gov.  D.  D.,  presidential  candidate, 
161 ;  Vice  President,  162. 

Toombs,  Robert,  favors  Compromise  of  1850, 
328;  advocates  secession,  363;  protests 
against  attack  on  Fort  Sumter,  367. 

Topeka  (Kan.),  Constitutional  Convention, 
34i- 

Town,  unit  of  government,  4,  10;  townships, 
how  surveyed,  19;  in  South,  427. 

Trafalgar,  effect  of  battle,  102,  104. 

Transcendentalism,  in  New  England,  284. 

Transportation,  economic  problem,  12,  56,  59, 
60;  wagons,  60;  toll  roads,  60,  264;  canals, 
I3S>  138-140,  146,  147,  178,  I93T  225,  264, 

>-J265v333,  369,  462,  485,  497,  498 ;  on  turnpikes, 
I3S,  173;  railroads,  139,  265^269,  299,  333, 
335,  3<?9,  376,  379,  44°;  by  rafts,  147;  river 
steamers,  147  264;  expense^  148,  179;  na 
tional  aid,  192;  state,  225;  improved,  264- 
267;  sailing  vessels,  269;  ocean,  270,  514; 
transcontinental,  332,  333;  during  Civil 
War,  376, 379,  393 ;  lake  boats,  379 ;  monopoly, 
420,  521,  531 ;  pipe  lines,  440;  rates,  456,  467 ; 
automobiles,  500.  See  Railroads",  etc. 

Treason,  trial  for,  82. 

Treasury  Department,  Secretaries,  50,  52,  54, 
55,  71,  88,  94,  119,  157,  162,  203,  214,  221, 
253,  365,  380,  404,  417,  450,  452 ;  powers,  223 ; 
deals  with  freedmen,  410. 

Treaties,  Paris,  i,  22;  how  made,  38;  with 
Indians,  60,  61 ;  commercial,  62,  69,  172,  226, 
227,  334;  France,  63,  64,  76,  95,  97,  no,  227; 
Great  Britain,  68-71,  75,  103,  109,  no,  126, 
310,  334,  425,  486;  Spain,  74,  76,  99,  169,  170, 
486,  490 ;  Amiens,  95 ;  San  Ildefonso,  95 ; 
Jay,  103,  227;  Erskine,  109-111;  Ghent,  126; 
Russia,  171,  334,  423;  Creeks,  179,  180; 
Cherokees,  191 ;  Muscat,  227;  Siam,  227,  334; 


Webster-Ashburton,  257-260;  Texas,  304; 
Clayton-Bulwer,  333, 485, 497 ;  Colombia,  333; 
Argentine  Republic,  334;  Denmark,  334; 
Japan,  334;  Persia,  334;  Sicily,  334;  Washing 
ton,  425;  Germany,  426;  Mexico,  334,  486; 
Hay-Herran,  497 :  Canadian*  reciprocity,  526 ; 
arbitration,  529;  Versailles,  565-566. 

Trent,  affair  of,  388. 

Trevetl  v.  Weedcn,  cited,  25,  28. 

Tripoli,  war  with,  102. 

Trist,  N.  P.,  Mexican  treaty,  313. 

Troup,  Gov.  G.  M.,  defiance  of  Adams,  cited, 
1 80. 

Trumbull,  Sen.  Lyman,  favors  Freedmen's 
Bureau,  409;  reconstruction  plan,  413. 

Trusts,  development,  460,  468,  469,  494;  atti 
tude  of  parties  toward,  473;  discussion,  523. 

Tuskeges  Institute,  515. 

Tweed,  William  M.,  Tammany  boss,  445. 

Tyler,  John,  abandons  Jackson,  232 ;  vice-presi 
dential  candidate,  246;  President,  250; 
character, _  251,  252;  strict  constructionist, 
251;  cabinet,  252;  cabinet  resigns,  254; 
financial  policy,  253-255;  tariff,  255,  256; 
Whigs  assail,  254;  "Corporal's  Guard" 
supports,  254;  Senate  censures,  256;  im 
peachment  threatened,  256;  proposes  com 
promise,  258;  Whigs  desert,  260;  use  of 
patronage,  262;  presidential  candidate, 
302;  favors  annexation  of  Texas,  302,  304, 
306;  relations  with  Polk,  307;  presides  at 
Peace  Convention,  362. 

Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  effects,  330,  331,  352. 

Underground  Railroad,  development,  293. 

Underwood,  O.  W.,  presidential  candidate, 
532. 

Union,  menaced,  28,  29, 123-125,  329;  strength 
ened  by  Washington,  50,  51 ;  Hamilton,  53, 
54;  Genet's  plot  against,  65,  68;  right  of 
expansion,  98;  strengthened  by  Louisiana 
Purchase,  99;  by  treaty  of  Ghent,  126;  love 
of,  129,  152;  strong  in  West,  180;  South 
debates  value,  198,  202;  Webster  supports, 
201,205,324;  Northeast,  202 ;  Jackson,  202, 
205,  208,  210,  231 ;  Democrats,  231 ; 
strengthened  by  War  of  1812,  330;  effect  of 
Brown's  raid,  353;  political  issue,  356,  357; 
secession  from,  360-364;  devotion  of  Lin 
coln,  366,  367,  386,  400;  of  North,  368; 
Douglas,  370;  sectional  support,  370,  371; 
party  of,  397;  reconstruction  of,  403,  404; 
permanence  established,  454. 

"Union  Leagues,"  of  negroes,  426. 

Union  Pacific  Railroad,  completed,  441 ;  in 
merger,  521. 

Union  party,  elements,  397 ;  losses,  401 ;  nomi 
nates  Lincoln,  405. 

Unitarians,  beliefs,  152;  growth,  152,  153; 
influence,  285. 

United  States  Bank,  founded,  54;  Hamilton 
favors,  54,  130;  first  expires,  94,  119,  148; 
charter  of  second,  157,  214,  222;  branches, 
157,  211,  214;  bad  management,  158,  212; 
officers,  158,  212,  220;  dividends,  160;  de 
bated,  194;  political  issue,  210,  213-218,  220, 
222;  opposition,  211,  212;  monopoly,  211, 
212,  215;  influence  in  politics,  212,  216; 


XXXVI 


INDEX 


constitutionality,  213-216;  deposits  with 
drawn,  220,  223,  235;  state  charter,  222; 
fails,  222;  Whig  policy,  253. 


United  States,  defeats  Macedonian,  120. 

United  States  v.  Judge  Peters,  cited,  129. 

United  States  Sanitary  Commission,  efficiency, 
381. 

United  States  Steel  Company,  organization, 
520;  growth,  523. 

Universalists,  growth,  153. 

Upshur,  A.  P.,  Secretary  of  State,  302 ;  death, 
302. 

Utah,  settled,  278;  applies  for  admission,  321 ; 
excludes  slavery,  322;  admitted,  502;  elec 
toral  vote,  534. 

Vallandigham,  Clement  L.,  peace  Democrat, 
402;  banished,  402;  candidate  for  gov 
ernor,  402 ;  defeated,  402  ;  writes  Democratic 
platform,  405;  unites  with  Liberal  Repub 
licans,  429. 

Valley  Falls  (R.I.),  growth,  133. 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  supports  Crawford,  175; 
Jackson,  187,  202;  governor,  187;  Secretary 
of  State,  187,  226;  influence  grows,  202; 
vice-presidential  candidate,  217;  Senate 
rejects,  226;  electoral  vote,  230,  231,  233, 
280;  opponents,  231-233,  244,  249;  elected 
President,  233;  calls  extra  session,  234; 
financial  policy,  235-237,  243,  252;  appoint 
ments,  241,  250;  Indian  policy,  242 ;  Texas, 
242,  243,  304;  maintains  neutrality,  243; 
unpopular,  243,  244;  renomination,  244; 
popular  vote,  247;  and  Calhoun,  261,  303; 
Free-Soil  candidate,  319;  retirement,  329. 

Vancouver  Island,  England  retains,  310;  boun 
dary,  425. 

Vanderbilt,  Commodore  Cornelius,  sources  of 
fortune,  271 ;  promoter,  333,  441. 

Vanderbilts,  control  railroads,  460. 

Van  Dorn,  Gen.  Earl,  at  Corinth,  392. 

Van  Rensselaer, Gen.  Stephen, in  War  of  1812, 124. 

Venezuela,  gains  independence,  168;  dispute 
with  Great  Britain,  484,  485. 

Vera  Cruz  (Mex.),  captured  (1847),  313; 
(1914),  542. 

Vermont,  independent,  2,  4,  28,  29;  frontier, 
12,  115;  treats  with  England,  22;  abolishes 
slavery,  26;  admitted  to  Union,  57,  164; 
trade  routes  opened,  69,  70;  electoral  vote, 
108,  534;  sheep  raising,  134. 

Vice  President,  lack  of  power,  46 ;  how  chosen, 
46,  74,  zoo,  251 ;  Senate  chooses,  233 ;  suc 
ceeds  President,  250,  325,  407,  462,  519. 

Vicksburg  (Miss.),  rail  connections,  392;  cap 
tured,  393 ;  effect  of  fall,  402. 

Vilas,  William  F.,  Postmaster-General,  464; 
Secretary  of  Interior,  464. 

Virginia,  plantation  system,  8;  self-govern 
ment,  10 ;  migration  into,  12;  population 
(1783),  13;  cedes  western  lands,  17,  20;  Ken 
tucky,  part  of,  20;  migration  from,  21; 
abolishes  entail,  25;  church,  25;  early 
emancipation  sentiment,  26;  dispute  with 
Kentucky,  28;  Maryland,  32;  requests 
commercial  convention,  32;  adopts  Con 
stitution,  41;  largest  colony,  46;  character 
of  planters,  47 ;  favors  tariff,  5 1 ;  revolt  on 


frontier,  57;  transportation  problem,  60; 
electoral  vote,  74,  108;  political  influence, 
87,  161 ;  religious  liberty,  109;  courts,  129, 
130;  antislayery  sentiment,  141,  291 ;  west 
ern  emigration,  146;  conservatism,  152; 
governor,  162;  return  to  old  Republicanism, 
174;  influence  of  university,  283  ;  no  cabinet 
member,  187;  slave  trade,  259;  German 
immigration,  274;  slave  insurrection,  293; 
extradition  trouble,  294;  calls  Peace  Con 
vention,  362;  secedes,  368;  seizes  Harpers 
Ferry,  369 ;  loses  western  portion,  370, 
403 ;  campaigns,  390,  391 ;  reconstruction, 
403,  408,  424,  428. 

Virginia,  remade  from  Merrimac,  385;  fights 
Monitor,  385. 

Virginia  Resolutions,  doctrines,  200;  cited,  82, 
83- 

Wabash  River,  Indians  on,  99,  115. 

Wade-Davis  bill,  reconstruction  compromise, 
404. 

Wakarusa  War,  in  Kansas,  347. 

Wake  Island,  coaling  station,  493. 

Walker,  Robert  J.,  Secretary  of  Treasury,  308; 
advocates  free  trade,  308-310;  governor,  347. 

Walker,  William,  filibustering  expedition,  344. 

War  of  1812,  begun,  116;  causes,  117,  118; 
European  situation,  118;  preparation,  118, 
119;  revenues,  119;  growth  of  American 
navy,  120;  naval  duels,  120;  effect  on  trade, 
121 ;  in  Northwest,  122;  on  Lakes,  122; 
battle  of  Thames,  122 ;  New  England  harried, 
123;  Washington  burned,  123;  battle  of 
Plattsburg,  123;  New  Orleans  threatened, 
123;  disaffection,  124,  125;  Hartford  Con 
vention,  124;  battle  of  New  Orleans,  125; 
peace  proposed,  125;  treaty  signed,  126; 
close  marks  epoch,  128;  encourages  American 
manufactures,  133 ;  effects,  160,  161 ;  sup 
porters,  198;  strengthens  Union,  330;  taxes, 
382. 

War  Department,  secretaries,  50,  162,  163, 
203,  308,  380,  412,  415,  443,  SiQ,  525,  544; 
survey  by,  334 ;  deals  with  freedmen,  410. 

"War  Hawks,"  favor  British  war,  116. 

Ware  v.  Hylton,  cited,  51. 

Washington,  admitted  to  Union,  471 ;  Bryan 
carries,  480 ;  electoral  vote,  534. 

Washington,  Booker  T.,  educator,  516,  522. 

Washington  (D.  C.),  seat  of  government,  86,  92, 
125, 126, 152, 175, 176, 185, 187, 198, 312, 360, 
362,  365,  372,  387;  British  burn,  123;  canal 
convention,  139;  social  changes,  185;  office 
holders,  1 88;  political,  217;  railroad  center, 
266;  newspapers,  281,  308;  Telegraph,  in 
fluence,  187;  Globe,  203,  261;  Union,  editor, 
308 ;  communication  cut,  369 ;  threatened, 
390,  400;  French  delegation  visits,  495. 

Washington,  George,  urges  centralization,  31 ; 
Madison^aids,  31, 108 ;  presides  over  Constitu 
tional  Convention,  34;  why  chosen  com- 
mander-in-chief,  46 ;  President,  46 ;  character 
and  ability,  47,  48;  first  veto,  48;  organizes 
cabinet,  49;  appointments,  49,  50;  signs 
bank  bill,  54,  55;  agrees  with  Hamilton,  56, 
80;  deals  with  Whisky  Rebellion,  57,  89; 
understands  western  problems,  60,  114,  264; 


INDEX 


attitude  toward  France,  63,  64;  England,  64; 
Jay's  treaty,  69;  reelection,  70,  74;  retire 
ment,  71;  Farewell  Address,  71,  72;  neutral 
policy,  80;  death,  81 ;  compared  with  Lee, 
374;  third  terra  policy,  525;  cited,  22,  23, 

"Washington  movement."    See  Temperance. 

Wasp,  defeats  Frolic,  120. 

Wayne,  Gen.  Anthony,  defeats  Indians,  61,  70; 
Genet's  plot,  65. 

Weaver,  James  B.,  presidential  candidate,  456, 
476,  480. 

Webster,  Daniel,  in  Congress,  128,  132,  156; 
counsel  for  Dartmouth  College,  129;  favors 
protection,  136,  181;  bank  plan,  157;  debate 
with  Hayne,  201,  202,  205 ;  vote  for,  231,  232, 
247;  Secretary  of  State^o,  327;  stands  by 
Tyler,  254;  British  negotiations,  256-260, 
262,  280;  leaves  cabinet,  260,  302;  views  on 
Oregon,  310;  Texas,  311;  controversy  with 
Cass,  317;  Senator,  322;  supports  Com 
promise  of  1850,  324,  325,  327;  blamed  by 
North,  328;  presidential  candidate,  328; 
death,  329;  friend  of  Choate,  344;  self- 
confidence,  366. 

Webster,  Pelatiah,  demands  Constitutional  Con 
vention,  32. 

Webster-Ashburton  Treaty,  provisions,  257- 
260. 

Weed,  Thurlow,  Antimasonic  leader,  216;  skill 
ful  politician,  245,  318,  321;  supports  John 
son,  412. 

Welles,  Gideon,  Secretary  of  Navy,  384. 

Wellesley,  Marquis  of,  American  policy,  112. 

Wellington,  Lord,  soldiers  in  America,  125; 
advises  concessions,  126. 

West,  land  problem,  50-61;  Genet's  plan  to 
separate,  65,  68;  influenced  by  coast  states, 
87;  question  of  allegiance,  99;  Burr's 
schemes,  100;  growth  of  population,  114,  115, 
135;  political  influence,  115,  117,  163;  New 
England  immigrants,  134,  138,  146;  southern 
immigration,  141,  144;  transportation,  135, 
147,  225,  264,  266,  335;  ^  competes  with  New 
England,  135,  138;  relations  with  South,  141, 
142,  201,  202;  financial  troubles,  148,  210, 
212;  religious  sects,  153;  sympathy  with 
Spanish  colonies,  168;  nationalistic  policies, 
175;  leaders,  175;  electoral  vote,  176 ^tariff 
sentiment,  202;  state  rights,  202;  Unionist, 
202;  land  speculation,  223-225;  growth  of 
sectionalism,  267,  268;  lawless,  298,  299; 
campaign  of  1860,  357;  growth  of  manufac 
tures,  379,  440;  Civil  War  campaigns,  391; 
unsettled  districts,  438;  Granger  movement, 
467,474;  sheep  raising,  473 ;  People's  party, 
476.  See  also  Frontier,  and  the  several  states. 

West  Indies,  trade,  5,  23,  79,  95,  226;  birth 
place  of  Hamilton,  55 ;  French  possessions, 
63,  65,  66;  buy  American  provisions,  65; 
English  courts  of  admiralty,  68;  trade  re 
strictions,  69;  slavery  abolished,  290; 
smuggling  center,  385;  Danish  possessions, 
424. 

West  Virginia,  admitted  to  Union,  370;  Union 
soldiers,  374;  organized,  403;  natural  gas 
discovered,  440;  McKinley  carries,  481; 
growth  of  population,  501. 


Western  Reserve,  origin  of  name,  18;  settled, 

21. 

Weyerhauser  companies,  timber  holdings, 
504. 

Weyler,  Gen.  V.,  war  methods,  488. 

Whaling  industry,  335 ;  declines,  441 ;  in  Pacific, 
486. 

Wheat,  importation,  268;  increased  cultiva 
tion,  269 ;  exportation,  387. 

Wheaton,  Henry,  publicist,  227. 

Whigs,  reject  commercial  treaty,  227;  adoption 
of  party  name,  244 ;  leaders,  245 ;  policies,  245 ; 
national  convention,  245 ;  campaign  methods, 
246,  247;  popular  vote,  247;  electoral,  248; 
elements,  249,  251;  use  of  patronage,  250; 
financial  policy,  252-255;  party  split,  254, 
260;  distribution  act,  255,  256;  tariff  policy, 
255,  256,  260,  469;  lose  Maine,  260;  lose  con 
trol  of  House,  260;  presidential  candidates, 
260,  305,  328;  oppose  Mexican  War,  314; 
factions,  314,  318,  344;  ignore  slavery  issue, 
318;  nominate  Taylor,  318;  victory,  320; 
nominate  Scott,  328;  defeat,  329;  divide  on 
Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  338,  339 ;  divide,  343. 

Whisky  Rebellion,  causes,  56;  ended,  57; 
political  significance,  77,  89. 

Whisky  Ring,  frauds,  444. 

White,  Judge  Hugh  L.,  presidential  candidate, 
232,  233,  246,  247. 

White  House,  inaugural  reception,  185;  in 
fested  by  office  seekers,  250. 

White  Oak  Swamp  (Va.),  battle,  300. 

Whitman,  Walt,  influence,  153 ;  Leaves  of  Grass, 
283. 

Whitney,  Eli,  inventor,  140. 

Whitney,  William  C.,  Secretary  of  Navy,  464, 
471. 

Whittier,  John  G.,  mourns  iall  of  Webster, 
3?8. 

Whittimore,  Amos,  inventor,  133. 

Wickersham,  G.  W.,  Attorney-General,  531. 

Wilderness  (Va.),  battles,  391. 

Wiley,  Dr.  Harvey,  Pure  Food  Commissioner, 
524;  resigns,  530. 

Wilkes,  Capt.  Charles,  in  Trent  affair,  388. 

Williamson,  Hugh,  land  survey  system,  19. 

Wilmington  (N.  C.),    Confederate    port,    385, 


Wilmot,  David,  member  of  Congress,  315. 
Wilmot  Proviso,  provisions,  315;  significance, 

316;  repeal,  323. 
Wilson,  James,  education,  33 ;  in  Constitutional 

Convention,  34. 

Wilson,  William  L,  frames  tariff  bill,  478. 
Wilson,    Woodrow,    career,    532;    presidential 

candidate,  532;  election:  533;  President,  536; 

reflected,  547;  Congressional  Government,  532; 

quoted,  562;  "fourteen  points,"  563;  on  Peace 

Commission,  564-565. 
Winnebago  Indians,  habitat,  191. 
Winthrop,  John,  cited,  81. 
Winthrop,  R.  C.,  Speaker  of  House,  314. 
Wirt,  William,  Attorney-General,  163;  presiden 
tial  candidate,  216;  electoral  vote,  218. 
Wisconsin,  British  expeditions,  122;  Indian  title 

extinguished,  191;  German  immigration,  274; 

Fourierism,  279;  opposes  fugitive  slave  law, 

33°;  war  governor,  381;  Democrats  win,  401; 


xxx  vm 


INDEX 


public  domain,  438;  movement  of  population, 
439;  transportation  rates,  456;  power  of 
Grangers,  456;  school  issue,  474;  growth,  501; 
progressive  policies,  508,  509,  527;  Norwegian- 
ism,  511. 

Wise,  Henry  A.,  opposes  squatter  sovereignty, 
339;  supports  Tyler,  254- 

Wolcott,  Oliver,  Secretary  of  Treasury.  71. 

Women,  frontier  hardships,  247;  in  temperance 
movement,  288;  women's  rights  movement, 
289,  507;  nation-wide  suffrage,  568. 

Wood,  Gen.  Leonard,  occupies  Cuba,  491;  chief 
of  staff,  524. 

Woodbury,  Levi,  Secretary  of  Navy,  203. 

Woodford,  Gen.  S.  L.,  Minister  to  Spain.  489. 

Worcester  (Mass.),  trade,  135. 


Worcester  v.  Georgia,  cited,  101. 
World  War,  or  Great  War,  543~S68. 
Wyoming,  admitted  to  Union,  471;  Bryan  car 
ries.  480;  grants  woman's  suffrage,  507. 

"X  Y  Z"  correspondence,  sent  to  Congress,  76; 

published,  77. 

Yazoo  claimants,  101,  102. 
Yoder,  Jacob,  early  trader,  31. 
York  River,  military  movements,  390. 
Young.  Brigbam,  Mormon  leader,  279. 
Yucatan,  revolts  from  Mexico.  313. 

Zollverein,  treaty  with,  227. 


1C  279 1 7 


Hit 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


